 Gomengini apu kali sana, so make sure you go to his Facebook channel, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Kilamali, go and stalk him, and E.P. is coming. Up next, Tukuna MC Yala, all the way from Uganda. Welcome to the E-Cycuit. Thank you. Thank you so much. We're humbled that you've come because you're actually one of the pioneers of hip-hop in Uganda. And everyone here knows how much I love hip-hop. Wow. I love hip-hop. Thank you so much. I'm actually... so humbled to be here. DJ Talk is really amazing. I'm just enjoying the music. Then MC Mika, wow. Yeah, this is such a great place. I'm feeling home. Wow. Thank you. Did you think he's just blashing right now? Did you think he's just blashing? Well, but he's amazing. He's really playing amazing music. Welcome to the E-Cycuit. Is it obviously you come to Kenya? Yes. But is this your first interview in Kenya? Actually, on TV. On TV? Yes. But you've been in the industry for quite a long time. You started way back when in 1999? Yeah, late 1999, 2000. Late 90s over there. Yes. Tell me about that experience being one of the pioneers of hip-hop in Uganda. Was it tough? Was it easy? Was it acceptable? Okay, at first in the beginning, of course, it was not that easy. But of course, MCs, of course, we used to enjoy as MCs because we used to love what we were doing. I hope you know clear cut, navio. Yeah, that was around the time we began doing hip-hop, singing also, performing in the same places with Bobby Wine, Camillion, Baby Cool. And by then there were no studios. The media was, you know, they were like, few. Yeah, so we just used to rap along using beats for, you know, the Americans. The American beats that you tried to do a cover on? Aha, the American beats because there were no studios then. Yeah, but then so it was not that easy. But of course, with Diaz passing by, you know, things have gotten better. You also know for every country, even here in Kenya. Yeah, I know. Yeah, things have gotten better. There are a lot of media. There is a lot of media houses, you know, TV, radio. They are pushing music and then many studios have come up. Okay, let me ask you this. I'm sure you get asked this a lot as a female MC. Do you feel like you need to fight harder than the boys because this is a genre, hip-hop is a genre, mostly populated by the boys. So do you feel like you need to, you know, work even harder than them? Yes, yes, yes. As a female hip-hop artist, yeah. I have to work hard because, first of all, you know, femcies are few, you know, they are very few actually in every country. Femcies are few, but you know, it's like working in a midi-stop man, you know. So, and you know, guys are not jokers. So you also have to come out hard because me actually, I don't see myself like I'm really competing with ladies though. It's more of the guys because, you know, they are hard and I have to be hard. You're going for the Jagila. Yes. Awesome stuff, but when you started, you were actually dominating for a while, then you disappeared for a minute from 2004, was it? Yes, yes. For some few years, what happened, why are they hiding this? Okay, actually what really happened, like, yeah, during that time, I was into music and we had also joined a certain dance group, a big dance group in Uganda, it was called Shadows Angels, there were two, Shadows Angels and Obsessions. So I joined Shadows Angels and of course my boss then was a devil worshipper. Yeah, things came out and yeah man, so we had to give our lives to Christ, you know. Yeah, so that's where I disappeared, church, you know, family things, you know. Yeah, to regroup. Yeah, yeah. Do you still have a relationship with them? With a dad. Sorry, with who? With your dad. No, with dad, no, the dance person, oh. He said who was the devil worshipper? The guy we were working for. The guy you were working for. Yes, he was called Shadows Angels then. Yeah, so the group was called Shadows Angels. So are you still in contact or have you tried to bring him to the light? He's there. Yeah, he's there. We all got saved. Yes. Oh, awesome stuff. Then you came back to the music industry. Yeah, I came back to the music industry. I do gospel music and positive music. Positive music, good vibes music, that's what we have to call it. Good vibes music, inspirational music. How was the reception after the personal issues that you had to deal with? How was the reception by your fans? Were they accepting when you came back? Yeah, yeah. Did you have to fight again like you're starting over? Okay, okay, of course, because I had disappeared and people can forget you a little bit. But of course when we came back, we came up with this hit song called Dabachala Tulipazila. It's on YouTube. Come back selected. Oh my goodness. I'm forgetting. It's cracking like it's DJ talk. Say that again slowly. It's called Dabachala Tulipazila, which means that women, we are heroes. Yes. Yes. Let me ask you because let me just jump into that first of all. You rap in Luo, English, Swahili and Luganda. Yes. Does it make creating the cypher that much easier because even now I feel like a vase may pop off. Just one word. Does it make it easier to write knowing all these languages and being able to put them in a song? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, it makes it easier to write. Yeah. At times different kinds of writing. If it's an English song, at most of the time I mix. Yeah. Once in a while is when I'll do a full English song. Yeah. I do Luganda songs full but at times let me say like in cyphers or not even in cyphers or collabo. Tend to mix. Tend to mix. Look afloat and shink. Here's the thing. If I know my fans back at home, they are now your new fans and I just, that Luganda thing, you need to do it. We need at least two lines or three or four or five or six. Give us something before we continue. Just a little something. Okay. Okay, Kali. Yeah. Okay. That's awesome. Yeah. That's it. Okay. I want to scratch you one time for that. Hey, that's awesome. Thank you. Like Sasabasi was saying during the earlier interview, music is universal. No matter what you speak, there's a way it touches someone somewhere. Yeah. That's awesome. Actually, music, you might not understand like me. I might not understand certain language, some languages. But you know the song, first of all the beats and then the flow. The creativity of the song, you just end up loving. And yet you don't understand. So yeah, what you said, it's universal. It's universal. Yeah. And we love you. We love you Luganda, the Lu, the Swahili. Thank you. The English would love it all. Thank you. There's also something different. I'm not sure if people back at home know this, but it put an interesting take to news at the same time. As a reporter for NTV Uganda. There's a news beach. Yes. I think people back at home, you've seen it somewhere on YouTube. Yeah. It's her. So tell me about that experience being able to rap and tell the news at the same time. Is it interesting? Yeah. Actually, it's interesting. In fact, I've met very many journalists. Like this TV journalist, like who reported the normal news. And then they come to us and they're like, because they're also journalists. Like how would you people do it? You do it like us, but for you, you've taken it to another level. Wrapping the news. Yeah. It's a good experience. I feel like we should give you a challenge. I can give you something you have in the back of your mind. After this, give you the challenge. No. Unless you've watched it on YouTube. Those who want to watch news beats. It's on YouTube. Newsbeat Uganda. That's your camera number four right over there. So they should go to YouTube under such MC Yala Newsbeat Uganda. MC Yala Newsbeat, yeah. Now back to the music. Well, you came back in 2010. Ever since then you've been going strong, going strong, going strong. Yes. Album? Actually, I've noted, worked on an album. I've just been working on single. Why is that if I may ask? A lot of African artists, they avoid the album route. And they decide to do single, single, single. And collabos, of course. Yeah, okay. Of course, actually this year, I'm working on an album which I'm going to release. But to me, I feel like things have changed a little bit. Albums. Right now, there is a lot of technology. Things have changed a lot. And like now with albums, you find that you release an album and your fan, it's hard for them to listen to all, let me say ten songs, to listen to them from the beginning to the end. So what people will do, they tend to listen like 40 seconds and then the person is like, I'll go with this one. If you have ten songs, they'll have like three. So I'm not saying that it is, it's not good to release an album because I'm going to release one, but that is what I'm saying. Of course, that is what happens. The difficulty and why people loved albums. They don't tend to right now. Not like those days. You remember those days, these things of working on YouTube, they were not digital distribution. And then you remember there was DVD people, a person would insert in a CD and listen. But now flashed the music. Yes, streaming, flash disks have come, a person will just insert inside. To tell you the truth, I've bought some albums. I bought some albums like my fellow artists and I know they are good. But to tell you the truth, I have not listened to them. I support my fellow artists out by the albums. They are there, I have not. Why? Because first of all, I'm busy. Yes, so what I'll do, if they send a song online, I will watch it online. But I need to sit at home to listen to a full album. I'm so busy. I'm saying it, that's what happens to me and to other people because that is what I've had also other people. And the reality of the situation. Yes, the reality. We have just moved to digital streaming and listening to music online as well. Which is awesome. Now your music in particular. You can find your Tiyala everywhere. But what about your latest piece of work? Can we talk about it for me? Yes, my latest piece of work. Actually, I have like two videos. One is called Mpambana. It came out in March. Mpambana means working hard. Mpambana. Yes. Am I saying it correctly? Mpambana. Did you talk? Yes. Mpambana means working hard. So in this song I was saying that me from the time I was young I used to go one on one with the guys. Working hard in the game. Whatever they can do, I can do it. You can do it even better. That is what I was saying in that song Mpambana. Yes. Then after Mpambana, then I have Ting Badi Malo. Yes. Also this Ting Badi Malo, of course I was talking about everyone in life has a hater. We have people who don't wish us good. People who pretend to love you. A person comes to you and is like Mika. How are you? Of course they don't expect you to say I'm fine. Yes, they expect you to say Ni kumgunjwa. Asina do. Things are bad. Yixing is actually quite good. Sorry to interrupt you, but Yixing is quite good. Try it. A person is like, did you finish university? Because before maybe they saw you nashing. So did you finish university? And you're like, yes, I as Mika I managed kumbe the person is feeling bad inside their hearts. So I'm like, man, lift your hands up in the air if you know that God has made you pass through this. Ting Badi Malo. Yes. You're so diverse. He's speaking all these languages. We are so glad to have you. Banange, thank you. Wait. Banange? We're learning something new every single day. I'm telling you. It's an awesome time at the E-Circuit. So people can find you on MCElla everywhere obviously. Yes, on YouTube, Spotify, iTunes, Instagram, Facebook. Awesome stuff. So what we're going to do, let me first read this the requests that are in. Then I want you to send out a shout out. A shout out.