Commonly known as The Drummerboy for his skillful banging of drums; Abaasa is such a talented soul. His voice? Well, it’s melodic. Listen to him sing. Watch him play. You will doff your hat to his unmatched talent.
Last evening, he dropped his much-awaited Rukungiri album/mixtape at The Sound Cup, Garden City. People came through in large numbers to witness what this church boy has been up to. Over the past weeks, he has been dutifully publicizing this album. The 8-song album is a piece of work, no doubt.One wonders where this lad has been all this while. He hails from the acoustic world and his vocals are rich yet melodic; the kind you don’t get to listen to daily.
Rukungiri, I want to think that’s where he hails from, has songs like Run Away, a sweet song laying on an upbeat instrumentation. In Save The Night, Abaasa’s mastery of the art comes to fore. He is a producer, by the way. And his magical touch on Save The Night is not shabby. Fatal Attraction starts up slowly, as if J-Holiday, and it later picks up albeit on a slow pace.
Ntegyerize, which he performed with Lillian Mbabazi last evening, is one of the popular songs on the album. I love the instrumentation on the track; its bed is good. Its lyrics are deep; it’s a lamentation of a lover boy waiting patiently for his girl. I love the mixture of English and his native Runyankole and this is what makes Abaasa stand out of the lot we are used to. He has a way of blending traditional lingua into the modern setting, like he did in Simanyi.
Patrobas, who is a good rapper by the way, joins him in Home Town. He also merges talents with The Mith and Kael in Maze. I love the way it opens up; a bit slow-paced, sweet and seemingly acoustic. And Kael croons, “Heart ache at the door, I know that I’ll be fine…” Kabahita Kael is quite an amazing writer. The kind of folks that won’t step out in the glare; they opt to stay underground.
The album also has Find Myself, which culminates such a sumptuous musical dish. This right here shows Abaasa’s maturity in the game; it should introduce him as the next big thing. Some of the lyrics were written by Isabel Twongyeirwe, Cristina Chira and Kabahita Kael. And the mastering was done at C19 Studios owned by Nelson Muhiire, another amazing, talented lad whose background, like Abaasa, originates from the church. This is a masterpiece.
Staff Writer
