Kenyan rapper King Kaka was preparing to release his second studio album, Eastlando Royality, at the end of November 2018, with Dundaing positioned as the project’s breakout single.
King Kaka said the 18-track album would include collaborations with H_Art the Band, Talib Kweli, Tracy Morgan and Jamaican singer Romain Virgo. A separate 22-track digital version was also mentioned for listeners who prefer his mixtape-style releases.
He also said Dundaing, which features Kristoff, had been banned by the Kenya Film Classification Board (KFCB) for what the board described as a violation of community guidelines, but he still intended to perform it at the album launch.
The project was presented as a marker of his growth from Rabbit, the name under which he broke through with Jam na kam. King Kaka said the album would balance club records with more reflective material, while also revisiting sounds from earlier in his career.
Production on the album was credited to Rico Beatz, Jack on the Beat and Musyoka.
King Kaka on the new wave of Kenyan music ¶
In the same interview, King Kaka commented on the rise of young artistes drawing heavily from what trends on social media. He said that if Ethic Group could come up with Lamba Lolo and get 1 million views, then established artistes could also make several similar songs.
He added that music videos now face far fewer gatekeepers than before, saying artistes can shoot content and upload it to YouTube without the kind of control that once existed in the media space.
King Kaka also argued that songs such as Bora Uhai by Nelly the Goon, Fuckboy by Rico Gang X Marcel, and Sponyo by Gwaash may not last long, but they still work and can turn their makers into stars.
He said producers and artistes should stop complaining about content and instead focus on building themselves and passing talent to the next generation.
Even with the controversy around Dundaing, he said fans could expect a strong album launch and a project built to make noise in the market.
