There are a few times through Gaudencia, Ugandan hip-hop artist Yallah Gaudencia Mbidde’s latest fiery collaboration with French producer Debmaster, where you might be hit with a thought: “Who else would sound as good rapping over this?” These are layered, unruly beats, caked in more dirt and detritus than anything we heard on their last project, 2023’s Yallah Beibe. There are strong grooves laced into them, but the rhythms are often skewed or slippery. MC Yallah speeds through them, finding new pockets to thrive in. Her delivery is addictive, at once smooth and acrobatic. It sounds as though she’s making space for herself on beats other rappers could well disappear within.
But more than just thriving within technical complexity, it’s the fresh and surprising ways Yallah uses her voice that impresses most. Take ‘Kyika’, a relatively minimal production with a head-knocking pace, which she upends with ease. She vaults up octaves, contorts vowel sounds and delivers each line with an earned charisma. On songs like ‘Omulembe’ and ‘Hatari’ she sings in eerie, deadpan chants, underlining her ear for memorable and off-kilter hooks. On ‘Deception’, a tense track about failing political structures, she undercuts the despondent mood with eccentric high-pitched wails, as if she’s given into absurdity when little is making sense. Across the record, she raps in English, Luganda, Luo and Kiswahili. No matter the language or any barrier that could create, the feeling is one of complete mastery.
Debmaster is just as adventurous. ‘Tunyedde’ fizzes with synth crackle and atonal tension, released with heavy bass and sudden shifts in rhythm. ‘Wantintina’ opts to float in blown-out textures, only finding a solid form during a burst of energy in its second half. The ground is always moving under your feet. As a duo, the producer and rapper rally for freshness and invention. In an era which rewards predictability and regurgitation, it’s the sort of project that bursts with new possibility and positivity, even when lurking within crushing and occasionally apocalyptic sounds.
MC Yallah has been grafting on the East African hip-hop circuit for over twenty years as a performer and vocalist, but it’s her work with Debmaster where she sounds most confident. Gaudencia is a steady reaffirmation of this strong partnership, where its creators sound looser, freer and just as eager. It also finds plenty of moments to bask in success. ‘Lioness’ is another strong affirmation of MC Yallah’s ability, which convinces with a two-word hook, delivered over thrumming bass and percussion: “watch me”.
