Bebe Cool

Who is Bebe Cool?

Bebe Cool 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". 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. He was nominated for the Kora All-African Awards in 2003 and 2005. He has toured in the UK and the US.

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 MTV Africa Music Awards.

In January 2010 he was injured when a policeman shot at him.

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. 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."