- Title: UGANDA: Sony-signed Ugandan female rapper, Keko sets sights on going global
- Date: 21st June 2013
- Summary: KAMPALA, UGANDA (FILE) (REUTERS) RADIO DJ IN STUDIO WITH KEKO KEKO FREESTYLING ON RADIO SHOW
- Embargoed: 6th July 2013 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Uganda
- Country: Uganda
- Topics: Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA9AYH5P2SEFUPBOUPY80DS9IEO
- Story Text: For as long as she can remember, Ugandan rapper Jocelyn Tracy Keko says she has had a passion for music, but she also wanted to be different.
The 25-year-old is one of few female African artists that have succeeded in the genre of rap and hip-hop.
Her breakthrough single "How We Do It" made it to the top of the charts in Uganda and since then it has been one hit after another.
Keko, who also sings and writes her own lyrics, first rapped at a youth variety show in high school as part of a group she formed with friends called Soul Sisters. It was then that she realised hip hop would be her future.
"We wrote this song and the spot just came that I should write a verse because it would seem different. When I wrote I thought I was just playing around but when we performed it that very weekend the reception was crazy and from then on everybody was like "Keko the rapper" and every thing in school and so it built on after high school," she said.
Last year Keko was signed by Sony Music Africa and received a full management contract that put her on the same label as international acts like Alicia Keys and Usher.
Keko has had a hard time coming to terms with her growing popularity, she says and becoming the first Ugandan musician to be signed by the international music label was a surprise she had to seriously think about.
"Hello Keko, Sony is giving you this and this deal, think about it and get back to us. I was excited to go on stage then afterwards am like, what? what am I supposed to do now, perform and then what? This is a big decision to make. It was really hard but it was easy at the same time because this is Sony music Africa and they were offering me a recording contract, not just a publishing deal or a.... it was a whole package, video, audio, promo, management, 360. Any artist in their right mind would not say no to that," she said.
The young rapper's steady rise in the industry has taken many people by surprise. Keko says many music veterans are still struggling to make a name for themselves in a challenging music industry where funding is limited.
"Most people think I got it easy because it only took me a year - that is what they think, to get to where the music is right now. But in that way you kind of have the older artists looking at you and like, you are just a brat or something but the fans do appreciate the music. Its the peers in the industry itself make it harder for the new artists. So that is where most of the hurdles have been and then the financial part of it, because we are not like the Nigerians or west Africans or South Africans, when they want to shoot a music video pay what ever, they will get what ever guy to pay for the video and they will shoot the video because they believe in that kind of talent nurturing thing which culture is not yet been developed here," she said.
Keko has been praised by critics for her ability to use music to tackle important issues like climate change and domestic violence while maintaining a club appeal.
She has won several awards including Channel O's Most Gifted East African Video in 2011.
Keko says her plan is to reach a wider audience and put Uganda on the map of the international hip hop scene. With the help of Sony, she says the possibilities are endless.
"I am looking at global... globally because for now Africa is very informal in terms of the set up and copyrights and every thing is all over the place. The reason why Sony is very important to me is because of that same reason; we live in a very informal market where you can release your song and anybody can copy it, anybody can manipulate it however they want to do it because guess what, you have no rights, no one is going to fight for your rights, no one is going to fight for your records, so me giving my music in a way to a more responsible person to watch over it for me because one person cant do it because - the world is too big and they have a bigger tentacle and the machinery to reach wherever the music can reach and take the music wherever it should reach," said Keko.
Keko is currently working on her full-length debut album due for release this year. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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