‘Hakuna Kulala’ (meaning “no sleep” in Swahili) is a sub label of Nyege Nyege Tapes (2023). Based in Kampala, Uganda Hakuna Kulala outputs music for artists who exist within the underground of African electronic music. Due to Hakuna Kulala’s existence within both electronic and African music its artists are unique, merging more traditional African dance themes and rhythms with the contemporary electronic sounds of Techno, Hip Hop and Drill.
Hakuna Kulala’s place within Ugandan culture is one which defies the Competitive Authoritarianism of its leader Yoweri Museveni. Museveni has held power in Uganda since 1986. Many of Museveni’s political opponents as well as the European Union have deemed the Ugandan election’s to be fraudulent (2013). According to Human Rights Watch, “Between January and June [2013], a media watchdog organization registered 50 attacks on journalists, despite multiple pledges to respect media freedom.” In 2009, the Ugandan Government tried to institute the death penalty for homosexuality. Despite the lack of media freedom and expression of sexuality as well as the fraudulent elections carried out often by force by Musevni, Hakuna Kulala continues to push the boundaries of music through its dark and industrial production from the likes of Chrisman and DJ Scotch Egg as well as fierce performances on the mic from the likes of Biga Yut and leading female MC’s such as MC Yallah and Aunty Rayzor.
The track Batufitina by Swordman Kitala and Sekelembele (2020) is one which encapsulates Hakuna Kulala. The track begins with an alarm sound with vocals from Swordman Kitala shouted over the top. These vocals have heavy delay and reverb creating a mysterious and unknown atmosphere as we enter into the track. Following these first 8 bars, drums enter the track alongside more African vocals. A heavily distorted kick drum plays the one of every bar, a more typical sound heard within hip-hop and techno across the western world. However, in the background we also hear the sound of a Djembe or African drum playing more triplet lines. The combination of the traditional African drum and the distorted kick is a typical feature of how Hakuna Kulala merge both the industrial sounds of electronic music with its deep African roots. The pulsating drums and uncanny singing drone create a sense of a build towards something. Around 1:25 we reach the climax of the song where the vocals from Swordman Kitala change from aggressive MCing to whoops, cries and shouts. The drums become stripped back as only the thunderous bass kick continues with a ‘four on the floor’ style techno beat.
Bibliography:
O’Connor, N. (2023) ‘Label of the Month: Hakuna Kulala’, beatportal , 6 November. Available at: https://www.beatportal.com/features/label-of-the-month-hakuna-kulala/ (Accessed: 18 November 2023).
Swordsman Kitala, Sekelembele (2020) ‘Batufitina’, Spotify [Preprint]. Available at: https://open.spotify.com/track/5YiiLZXgP1Ebwy0irtKbAT?si=fd3c48eafcd7498a (Accessed: 17 November 2023).
World Report 2013: Rights trends in World Report 2013: Uganda (2023) Human Rights Watch. Available at: https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2013/country-chapters/uganda (Accessed: 17 November 2023).