Born in Kenya and raised in Uganda, MC Yallah is an accomplished rapper who is a part of the Kampala-based label Nyege Nyege—which is a Swahili word for “an uncontrollable urge to dance”. The label pushes foreign electronic music made by African artists and MC Yallah’s work is a telltale example of this ‘fusion’ of styles.

Yallah kickstarted her career in 1999, releasing music under the sub-label Hakuna Kulala. She raps in multiple tongues including Swahili, Luganda and English, mixing her rhymes and alternating between languages effortlessly. Ultimately, it’s about the art of poetic lyricism and the confidence she brings onto each track.

“Even if they don’t understand, it’s the impact that I leave on them.”

Nyege Nyege has a spirit for collaboration and that’s how MC Yallah’s sophomore album was born. In “Yallah Beibe”, she worked with the Berlin-based Debmaster, Japan-based Scotch Rolex and Congolese Chrisman. A description on Bandcamp called the album an “international patchwork” in the way it’s an amalgamation of musicians from multiple different backgrounds.

The stand-out track “Yallah Beibe” features MC Yallah rapping over a playful electronic beat produced by Scotch Rolex. Rolex starts the song out with hip-hop inspired plucks before Yallah enters with the 808s, performing a monotonous refrain that sounds almost like gibberish. The vocals are distorted with a telephone effect and sits perfectly on top of the bass-heavy beat. It’s a perfect intro that eases listeners into a more aggressive rap flow in the chorus and the following verses.

Bibliography

Alex, R. (2013). Album Of The Week. Go With The Lugaflow: Yallah Beibe By MC Yallah. https://thequietus.com/articles/32826-yallah-beibe-mc-yallah-review

Madison, B. (2023). Pitchfork. Yallah Beibe. The multilingual East African rapper embraces a crisp, confident sound on her second full-length. https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/mc-yallah-yallah-beibe/