[UAH] Atlas - Ankole Prince Who Reigns On the Mic

Uganda: Atlas - Ankole Prince Who Reigns On the Mic

BY SAMWIRI SEMWEZI, 4 JULY 2013

In Uganda, we have a tendency of attributing someone's success to everything but that individual's hard work, say family connections or a large inheritance.

On the hip hop scene, a figure that draws such unfounded criticism is none other than Atlas Da African, whose real identity is Prince Eddie Igumira - a member of the of Ankole royal family and one of the heirs to the throne.

There is no doubt this Ugandan-born and Canadian-bred rapper is a force of nature in hip hop, both locally and globally. Such is his talent that he even earned the respect of American rapper Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) on the premier Canadian Cable music network, Much Music.

So, when I got the opportunity to hang out with Atlas and his formidable manager, Gasuza Lwanga at Mango Grove in Bugolobi, I knew I had to take it. For a couple of hours, Atlas, the Swagg Africa CEO, cuts an impressive figure as he outlines his return from a musical hiatus and his rap philosophy.

The seasoned wordsmith attributes his ability to reconcile his royal/freedom fighter roots, and his real-talk-street hustle hip hop lyrics to "an understanding family that supported whatever the children did as long as it was not negative". He is the perfect example of a force that has crushed the popular belief in Uganda that music is for the less privileged who have nothing to do and cling on it for survival.

"For me, music is something spiritual," he says. "When I listen to a track, it takes me back to an experience or inspires me forward and it is from these feelings that the lyrics come to me."

But he is quick to share how his life has not always been as glamorous and comfortable as it is now.

"The environment I grew up in, in Canada after leaving [Uganda] at four, was hard because we were living as refugees in the beginning."

It is this difficult situation and the challenges in the streets that gave the budding emcee experiences that shaped him. So, I ask, how an established star as him has a lot of collabos with underground acts?

"I was once an upcoming artiste and someone (Kool G Rap) had to believe in me and co-signed me," he replies. "He gave me advice on life and music, so all I am doing is giving back. Besides, the hottest upcoming artistes and producers are who I seek out like Urban Accent. A lot of times, hip hop artistes want to keep people down so as not to be outshone, but I was not brought up like that. I wanna give our Ugandan and African talent a global platform."

All the same, Atlas has no qualms about battling: "I will battle anyone on the continent or anywhere, period, as long as that is what the fans want to see and the sponsor is serious with the right money".

The battle rap mind frame is rife in this artiste. He says it is part of the hip hop culture to answer when someone starts with the diss (disrespect). Battling in hip hop is common and it originally used to be free-styling only, where rappers would compete to find out who the lyrical genius was. It later became dirty, with artistes hurling out derogatory rhymes about each other; the winner of the battle was the rapper who disrespected more.

Atlas does not seem to have much time for grudges, though. Rather he is focused on building his Swagg Africa roster - the African franchise of Swagg International, a music-publishing house in Muyenga that works with stars like Future and Juelz Santana.

"I have been quiet for a year but you know you gonna get quality. I am also introducing [you all] to Bruiser," says Atlas of his collabo with Bruiser.

In contrast to himself, Atlas describes some artistes as microwave rappers. "There's [sic] too many oversaturated rappers who need a video every three months to stay relevant and it is all about the gimmicks with a lot of these rappers. Now, we are putting out real music for the real dudes and even the ladies love it."

At this point his manager, Gasuza, who has been quiet interjects: "My man here is what I would describe as a slow grinder; he understands it is not a sprint but a marathon."

When I inquire how he deals with the groupies, he acknowledges they - along with critics - are all part of the game: "They are good reminders that I need to stay focused and that's why I put nothing above my creator."

As an artiste, Atlas also enjoys fellow artistes' work, especially Nas as his playlist includes Nas' entire catalogue. On his rap philosophy, he describes it as: "Reality; it is second nature to us. The difference with us is we never aspired to be rappers, we needed an avenue to get out of the madness we were experiencing in the streets."

And how did he get the name Atlas?

"I would be on the block with my boys always talking about going back to Africa and they had never heard of many of these places, so they were like: 'This dude is an Atlas.' And at first I did not like it until I realized it set me apart. I was proud because I knew where I came from because I know I am more than a nigga who has just experienced the streets and with that it led me to do my music more consciously."

The Ankole prince and rapper also has some advice to dispense to upcoming rappers: "You got to have a team who believe in you and not just a crew to get drunk off you because you are the rapper. You got to focus as a collective, get your [money], put it in one artiste, believe in your projects and put your all in-- sometime you lose, sometime you win. I have taken risks and paid my dues. It always kills me when people say you are established because you come from a rich background."

He strongly warns against gimmicks and following trends when I inquire why he has never rapped in Runyankore (kwevuga).

"It will come naturally, like I said it is spiritual," he says sternly. "I am not like an English rapper who figures rapping in Luganda is hot now, so I get some Luga flow into my rhymes - I don't do that."

This is one hardworking emcee who has over 6,200 tracks and is giving his all with his team to bring you a soon-to-be named 12-track album. He just finished a video for his song, Yes Money, featuring Mys - Natty, shot in Turkey and Ndali Lodge in Fort Portal. He also reveals that collabos with Nigerian hip hop star Ice Prince and possibly Bamboo are in the works.

"We are in talks with some international labels, but we are in no hurry because we know the kind of deal we want," Gasuza adds.

As we close our meeting, I ask Atlas how he would want to be remembered for his contribution to Ugandan music.

"As one who challenged the industry to be better, and as an artiste who did not lie to you but gave you the truth with good music."

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Gwokto La'Kitgum