ONEXTRA: Yamugisha Kalaule aka Nabiey

Nabiey, real names Yamugisha Kalaule, had to take a long route to get to the point where he could freely and totally immerse himself in the art he had loved since he was young. The “street poet” talks to THOMAS RAJULA about his journey in music and about having one foot in Dar es Salaam while the other’s in Nairobi.

Nabiey has a two-fold meaning. First, it means street prophet. Then there’s a Russian scientist called Romanov Nabiey. This means I also like to try out a lot of musical styles.

My style is Swahili-Streetflow. It’s a blend of hip hop, pop, R&B, Afro sounds inspired by what goes on in the streets of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, crafted by my experiences.

I was born in Kenya. My parents were working here and I also went through my entire schooling here. My links have always been tight with Tanzania and I used to visit back there a lot. My neighbourhoods are South C and Mbezi Beach.

I had a lot of side hustles

I was raised in a house with a lot of music records. My parents had Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, TP OK Jazz, Oliver Mtukudzi, Hugh Masekhela and other records they picked up from their travels. My elder brothers and sisters also used to listen to a lot of hip hop and R&B. I always used to listen to albums from the first song to the last, no stops.

I started freestyling a bit in high school, at Juja Preparatory School. After completing high school in 2006, after people had told me that I had a talent in it, I decided that music was going to be the thing for me. In 2010, I recorded my first track with DX at Noizmekah Studios, Arusha. I didn’t release it then but I might still release it soon.

I couldn’t get into music full-time back then. I had a lot of side hustles including being a researcher for different projects, and doing paperwork and assisting in logistics for a filmmaker. Music was really sketchy and I didn’t have the resources to get into it fully, because I had no one to back me up for that. I also wasn’t well established.

Then it got to a point where I felt that I really wanted to do music. By 2013 a lot of dynamics had changed – social media came in, the quality of music videos improved – and I said I was going to give it all I’ve got. I still didn’t jump in quickly; I had to plan a lot, find the right team and see what works where.

I call myself “street poet” because I believe in being positive – predicting better things for people in society and humanity. As an artiste, I think, you’re a lens for society; you see a lot of things about how people are trying to get their daily bread, or what happens in relationships. Some of it are your experiences while others are what you see in the news or what other people tell you about their experiences. Consciously or unconsciously, that’s what trickles into your content.

My main language of expressing music is Swahili because it sounds beautiful when you write it as poetry. I do a bit of English here and there, but I don’t think it sounds as good as Swahili.

Collaborations require you to feel what the other person can do. I’ve done a few collaborations and it’s about what kind of blend the people coming together can bring out. In the past I used to simply look at whether the person can make good music – which is usually the main criteria – but now I need to see how we will also work beyond the studio to push that track to the audiences. I don’t want to speak too soon but there’s some stuff in the works with Kenyan artistes.

The events industry in East Africa is really picking up. For performers, that’s exciting because it means that there’s a lot going on. I also used to perform with a live band in Tanzania for two years.

After they performed their sets they would do my hip hop set. It was on the plate of one of those hustles I was telling you about. Right now I can work at a deejay or live band event equally well, but you have to have a good team when you’re performing live.

The main difference between the Kenyan and Tanzania music industries is that it’s very hard to make it as a “bubble gum” artiste in Tanzania. They are very conscious of quality and content there. In terms of the music bouncing of the West African sound, that’s nothing new. There was a time everyone wanted to sound like the Congolese, then the South Africans and so on.

Do better to be better

My last track “Girl” was inspired by all the beautiful East African ladies out here. One of them is actually my girlfriend, although it’s not something I’d like to talk about. We’ve only been together a couple of months and so far it’s “tight”. This industry – with the travelling, shows, fans and long hours in the studio – can sometimes be a hindrance to relationships, but we’re talking a lot and not rushing things. Music requires a lot of dedication that it can sometimes become your first-love.

When relaxing, I like to listen to music. I actually have specific days for listening to music from specific continents.

My favourite food is Chicken Biriyani. I can’t cook that but I can throw down a good stew – anything with meat in it.

I like sports. I’m into soccer and even though I don’t play. them I also watch basketball, boxing and mixed martial arts.

My life’s philosophy is “do better to be better”.