On August 12th, Bebe Cool held a successful listener’s party at Masq London, Restaurant and Bar. This highly anticipated event brought together the best of UK’s media personalities from BBC, Westside Radio, The Beat London, Represent Radio, as well as select Bebe Cool fans that live in the United Kingdom.
The evening’s host- Olamide Grace, a presenter at Represent Radio, kept the audience engaged and conducted a thought provoking conversation with Bebe Cool about the Break The Chains album.
Bebe Cool said the album is a journey of him challenging himself to take on that task most local artists could be afraid to take. “For a long time people have made it seem like Africans should not have ambitions. We were made to believe that some dreams were not for us. This album is me going where most thought we couldn’t go,” he said.
The Afrobeats centric album, with songs such as African Love with Yemi Alade, Games alongside BBC’s DJ Edu, and his turn with Joshua Baraka on Cheque, has different people talking and others getting introduced to his music.
The listening party attracted over 100 Londoners who enjoyed canapes and drinks, some catching up, and others connecting. But it was just the beginning, on Friday, Bebe Cool alongside Jamaicans Adonia, Sha Simone, Dub Plate, and Shaky P, appeared on the famous DJ AG Online street party.
DJ AG is popular for his street mixes which are simultaneously streamed on YouTube and TikTok. This year, the platform has become a staple for stars such as Ed Sheeran, Jessie J, Burna Boy, Will Smith, Ciara, Rita Ora, Craig David, and from Uganda- Joshua Baraka.
Bebe Cool impressed the audience with a performance of his award winning Fire Anthem, before launching into songs off his new album.
He performed Hidden Agenda, Circumference, and his collabo with Joshua Baraka- Cheque. And as is the norm, at the end of every performance, DJ AG asks his guest who they would like to see pull up next on the platform. Some artists use the opportunity to help the DJ discover new talent, while others mention larger than life artists.
YG Marley from Jamaica, for instance, endorsed Davido, Burna Boy endorsed J Hus, while Diamond picked Zuchu. When his turn came, Bebe Cool picked Jay-Z, a choice that has gotten Ugandans talking; some think he would have picked an Ugandan artist, for promotion purposes. In his defence, Bebe Cool said that DJ AG has struggled to get where his platform where it is, and he believes that with a guest like Jay-Z, he it will only blow up.
Break the Chains is Bebe Cool’s first album in ten years, and he’s dedicated to changing the narrative from impressing physical masses, to those on the streams. With Uganda still low on streaming numbers, he chose to throw his net wider.
He has since toured both Kenya, Tanzania, and now the UK, before embarking on other territories. Break the Chains was released on May 30 and is available for streaming on different platforms.
