Bebe Cool
Bebe Cool (born 1 September 1977) (real name Moses Ssali) is a ragga musician from Uganda. He started his career around 1997 in Nairobi, Kenya, but a few years later he moved back to his native country. Together with Redsan and his compatriot Chameleone, Bebe Cool was one of the first artists affiliated with Ogopa DJs, a production house and record label in Kenya.
Two of his popular singles are "Fitina" and "Mambo Mingi".[1] He also collaborated with Halima Namakula, a Ugandan veteran woman musician, on their crossover track "Sambagala". He has released two solo albums, Maisha and Senta. His lyrics are in Luganda, Swahili, and English.
Bebe Cool has won several awards at the Pearl of Africa Music Awards (PAM Awards).[2] He was nominated for the Kora All-African Awards in 2003 and 2005. He has toured in the UK and the US.[3]
Together with Kenyan duo Necessary Noize, Bebe Cool has formed a reggae group known as the East African Bashment Crew. They have released one album, Fire, and two hit singles, "Africa Unite" and "Fire". The group is nominated at the inaugural (2008) MTV Africa Music Awards.[4]
In January 2010 he was injured when a policeman shot at him.[5]
On 11 July 2010, Bebe Cool was performing at the Kyadondo Rugby Club when a bomb set by Somali Islamist terrorist group al-Shabaab exploded (July 2010 Kampala attacks). According to Cool, "Most people who died were just in front of me. The blast was so loud—the next thing I saw were body parts flying over." [6]
Bebe Cool is husband to model and former Miss Uganda contestant Zuena Kirema and is now a father of two; one son and daughter, Alpha Thierry and Beata, respectively.
Awards
Won:
- 2004 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Best Reggae Artiste/Group[7]
- 2005 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Best Reggae Artiste/Group[8]
- 2006 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Best Reggae Artiste/Group[9]
- 2006 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Song of the Year[10]
- 2007 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Best Reggae Artiste/Group[11]
- 2007 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Best Male Artiste[12]
- 2007 Channel O Music Video Awards -Video of the year[13]
- 2008 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Best Male Artist & Best Reggae Artiste/Group & Best Ragga Artiste/Group[14]
- 2010 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Artist of the Year 2010,Best Reggae Artiste/Group and Album of the year[15]
- 2011 Pearl of Africa Music Awards - Best Male Artist [16]
Nominated:
- 2003 Kora Awards - Best East African Artist [17]
- 2011 Tanzania Music Awards - Best East African Song ('Kasepiki')[18]
References
- ^ MTV Base Africa: Artist profile - Bebe Cool (through archive.org)
- ^ PAM Awards website
- ^ Musicuganda.com - Bebe Cool
- ^ Museke: MTV Africa Music Awards 2008
- ^ The Standard, 1 February 2010: Ugandan singer injured in scuffle with police
- ^ Peter Wonacott and Nicholas Bariyo, "Somali Militants Shift Tactics with Uganda Attack," The Wall Street Journal, July 12, 2010 [1]
- ^ PAM Awards: 2004 Winners
- ^ PAM Awards: 2005 Winners & Nominees
- ^ Ugandaonline.net: PAM Awards 2006 Winners
- ^ [2]
- ^ Museke: Pearl of Africa Music (PAM) awards 2007 winners - Uganda
- ^ [3]
- ^ Museke
- ^ Museke: Pearl of Africa Music (PAM) awards 2008 winners - Uganda
- ^ PAM Awards
- ^ The Observer PAM awards never short on surprises
- ^ Kora Awards Nominees 2003
- ^ allAfrica.com: '20 Percent' Grabs Seven Kili Music Awards Nominations