Washington, DC — Among the emerging African hip hop artists making a splash in the United States and globally is Edwin Ruyonga, a.k.a. Krukid.
Based in Illinois, Krukid is from Uganda, and is the latest African import to the American hip hop scene. Following other gifted African artists such as Somalia's K'Naan and Ghana's Blitz the Ambassador, Krukid's raw talent and fresh and creative lyrics are gaining the attention of the hip hop community worldwide.
Krukid's latest CD, Afr-I-Can, has been released on Rawkus Records, the same company that produced albums for the likes of Mos Def, Talib Kweli and Pharoahe Monch. In November 2007 Rawkus Records launched The Rawkus 50 series, featuring some of the hottest underground artists in hip hop today. Afr-I-Can is one of the series.
Afr-I-Can is a great blend of hard-hitting beats and wonderfully creative lyrics. The CD includes socially conscious songs such as "African", "My Music, My Country", and "Invisible", a moving song that discusses the impact of the war in northern Uganda. "City Life", as its title suggests, is a song about urban life in East Africa. Anyone who has lived in Africa will relate to Krukid's descriptions of city buses crowded with riders and clubs that open at dusk and close at dawn.
Songs such as "Buck um Down", "Real Talk", and "Green" cover the requisite topics of sex, boasting, and money. Krukid's charisma, style and raw talent, however, allow you to forgive his occasional journeys into commercial hip hop.
I recently spoke with Krukid about his career, politics and how he became involved in hip hop.
While he was growing up, there were few hip hop artists in Uganda. But he looked up to the Bataka Squad, who are among the godfathers of Ugandan hip hop. He and other Ugandan youth were primarily exposed to hip hop via a South African cable channel that aired in Uganda. In the 1990s Ugandan television stations also began playing music videos, including hip hop.
Attracted to the authenticity of the music, Krukid became absorbed into hip hop culture. As someone who had an active imagination and watched a lot of TV, he was able to translate his creativity into rap lyrics. He says he started writing rhymes in Form 1 (secondary school). By Form 3 he had written his first proper rhyme. He received a mixed reaction, as many did not believe he had come up with the lyrics on his own.
Krukid's father, a member of Bunyooro royalty, passed away when he was young. His mother, who was well educated, sent him to a prestigious school in Uganda. But he showed little interest so she sent him to the United States, where he furthered not only his studies, but also his music career.
It was in the U.S. that Krukid perfected his craft. He released his first CD, Raisin in the Sun in 2005 on Cash Hill Records.
The deal with Rawkus Records came about through a mix of luck and talent. Rawkus Records put out an ad on MySpace.com looking for the top 50 underground artists. A friend encouraged Krukid to submit his music. He had been in the States for less than five years, but had the luck to get heard and the talent to secure a deal. It was a significant step, one which hundreds of American artists struggle for years to make.
Krukid has done collaborations with artists based in his city of Champaign, Illinois, as well as with artists all over the U.S. and internationally. The artists he's worked with include Urban Life (his crew in Uganda), D-Lnz, and Garenne Sanyankanta (a Jamaican artist). He's also worked with other members of Rawkus 50: Finale, Prime, Mr. Metaphore, Legazy, Kaze.
Krukid has done performances on tours with American artists Lupe Fiasco and the Ying Yang Twins. Brady a.k.a. John Doe did a lot of production on Afr-I-Can. Krukid's cousin, Somi, has also worked with him, especially on the track "Invisible".
Krukid told me he wanted to work with other African artists, and he's in talks with rap artists M.anifest (Ghana), Bamboo (Kenya), Eldee (Nigeria), Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana), and Chosan (Sierra Leone) regarding collaborations. He told me he feels African artists based abroad have a significant responsibility in representing Africa.
Like early American hip hop artists, Krukid also says African hip hop artists have a responsibility to educate their listeners. He truly believes that "to whom much is given, much is expected".
I asked Krukid about the latest controversy surrounding the behavior of Senegalese American artist Akon, who has received a lot of criticism, especially from his fans in Africa, over his performances. The criticism emerged after video images emerged of Akon performing simulated sex on stage with a 15-year-old girl during an April 2007 concert in Trinidad.
Krukid said that Africans tend to hold themselves to a higher standard and there were certain things (as an artist) that you just do not do. He also feels that artists like Akon are in a position to help improve the representation of black women in the media, particularly in music. "So he (Akon) is in a position where he has to be accountable for stuff like that, especially as an African artist."
Hip hop is a subject Krukid has studied seriously. He says it would be an injustice to have people listen to him and not act as an ambassador. He feels that he stands between two cultures – African and African American – and the tensions between African peoples inspired his song "African American/American African" on Raisin in the Sun.
On the popular music scene in Uganda, Krukid says it has evolved into a hybrid of hip hop and reggae, with artists like Kid Fox and Chameleone making good money. Rap artists in Uganda have become really creative and are finally being taken seriously, he adds. Artists like Bataka Squad's Silas personify Luga flow, hip hop performed in the Luganda language. Krukid says Silas add a certain style and flair to Ugandan flow.
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Krukid is among Uganda's more socially conscious artists, addressing topics ranging from corruption, poverty, violence, conflict, and HIV/AIDS. I asked him about his views on the conflict involving the rebel Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) in northern Uganda and its impact on the Acholi people.
Krukid, a Munyooro from western Uganda, says LRA ambushes instilled fear in Ugandans across the country and the atrocities committed inspired some of his most powerful lyrics.
As more and more young Africans head for the United States, they are bringing with them both a love for rap music and a culture with music at its core. Like musical superstars Akon and Chamillionare, like other rising African stars, and also like K'Naan, Krukid is making a name for himself in both the U.S. and Africa as one of his continent's most talented rap artists.
As an musician who blends both Ugandan and American styles with talent and creativity, Krukid's career has just begun.
Krukid's music can be purchased online through Amazon.com and i-Tunes.
