Interview with Ugandan Hip Hop Artist and Breakdancer Abramz Tekya

A month or so ago, I came across the song  “Bantu Baffe” by Ugandan Hip Hop Artist and Breakdancer Abramz Tekya. At the time, I had no idea who Abramz was, I had never heard of him. The content of the song however, prompted me to research more into the artist and boy am I glad I did.  A couple of weeks ago I sat down with this brother and found out that his story and the work he has been doing in the community are both admirable and worthy of praise. By looking at him, you would never tell that this eloquent well spoken brother comes from humble beginnings. Orphaned by the age of seven and forced to drop out of school because of the lack of school fees, Abramz defied the odds and has used his story to lift up the youth in the same slums he frequented as child. He started the Break Dance Project Uganda in 2006 and in 2010 his story was documented in "Bouncing Cats" directed by Nabil Elderkin.

SM: What was your earliest exposure to hip hop?

AT: When I was 7 my parents died, after that I lived with different relatives and was often mistreated, and put down. I didn’t know what hip hop was at the time but I would watch music videos and would get beaten up for doing so. In 1991, I moved from my grandmother's house to my auntie’s house, and it was there that my cousins exposed me to hiphop. I didn’t know English at the time, and would cram the lyrics not knowing what they meant, my real passion for hip hop came when I asked  people to translate the lyrics and then it really appealed to me. I didn’t know that there was a type of music where you could talk about your problems. Hip hop is what got me wanting to learn English, because I wanted to understand the music for myself. I was influenced by Chubb Rock, Lords of the Underground, Big Daddy Kane, LL Cool J, Tribe Called Quest, just to name a few.

SM: When did you write your first song?

AT: I wrote my first song in 1993 and it was called “The way I come,” it was about me coming into my own.

SM: Most of your rap is in Luganda what is your inspiration to rap in Luganda and don’t you feel like this narrows down your audience?

AT: My inspiration to rap in Luganda came from the Legendary Ugandan musician Philly Lutaya and his song “Nakazaana” in particular. My reason for rapping in Luganda is because I wanted the people in the slums to be able to identify with my music, because my music is for the people. On my new album though, I will drop about 3 English tracks.

SM: When is your album dropping and which producers are you working with?

AT: Most definitely before the end of the year. It’s a 12 track album with 3 tracks in English. I am working with people from all over the world on this album, Uganda, Kenya, Portugal, USA and Finland just to name a few.

SM: What would you say are some of the challenges you have faced as an artist?

AT: Most radio stations don’t play my music, I got tried of going to them after a while. They said I wasn’t producing the type of music their bosses would approve of. At the end of the day I make music people need to hear and not what they want to hear. I’m not too worried about radio spins though, I’m more concerned with touching peoples lives.

SM: What was the inspiration for your current single Bantu Baffe?

AT: Life experiences.The song looks at how your own people can be your worst enemies, those that are there for you when things are good and not when things are bad. 

SM: When did you start break dancing, most people myself included have no idea about a breakdancing culture in Uganda ?

AT: Hip hop and break dancing for me are closely linked. When I started watching the music videos early on and finally when I watched the BreakDance movie in 1991 that’s when I started. I quit in 1993 but it  was something I would come back to in 1996 when I realized that breakdancing was a part of hip hop culture.

SM: What was your motivation to start the Breakdance Project Uganda?

AT: I wanted to establish a free space that would empower, rehabilitate and heal the community by teaching the youth about b-boy culture. We learn for free but we also teach for free. I didn’t want a situation were we were charging more well off kids to breakdance and not the poor kids because I felt like that would just create a divide and build a wall. I wanted it to be a space where everyone was the same. I am proud of the fact that we have managed to keep going with very minimal external funding.

SM: How did “Bouncing Cats” come along?

AT:  I had a friend who worked for Oxfam and she was impressed with the work that the Break Dance Project was doing in Uganda. She was at a conference in Los Angeles and she mentioned the organization and the work we were doing. Nabil Elderkin was at this same conference and he walked up to her to ask her about us. He came down a couple of times and shot videos of the project in action. On one occasion we had  a discussion about people who had influenced my love for breakdance and I mentioned Crazy Legs and the Rock Steady Crew. When he went back he looked for Crazy Legs and told him about the project, which he agreed to participate in and in conjunction with Red Bull, Bouncing Cats was born.

I appreciated the process of making the film more than the film itself. The relationships that were formed and also the respect with which redbull approached the project, they cared about us as individuals.

SM: I heard you were asked to join the Rock Steady Crew how did that come about?

AT: In 2010, I was in Austria at a hip hop convention and Crazy Legs was there too. He was on stage, and invited me to join the Rock Steady Crew.

SM: So aside from the hip hop and the breakdance, you do other things as well?

AT:  I lead workshops on Self Discovery and Self Esteem.  I teach people about respect and facilitate activities to get them to understand. Most people don’t recognize their potential, and I try to help them do that, I see light where most people see darkness. Depending on who I am talking to, I select the best way to get my point across so that they can get the most out of my sessions. I also think it is important to teach in a way that the people who leave my sessions are able to pass on that knowledge to other people. I have given talks in prisons, in the slums, in universities but people can relate to me because of my journey.

SW: Have you ever thought about going back to school, and what would you study if you did?

AT:  No. I feel as though each one of us has our own path, if we all try to do the same we will end up doing nothing. If I did go back though, I would go into development studies. I may not have had the opportunity to go through school, but I have learned a lot along the way. I have attended several wokshops in so many different countries, but I have also facilitated the workshops as well. I taught myself how to use a computer, and I look at everyone as a teacher.

SM: So you got to work with your dream b-boy, who would your dream hip hop artist to work with be? 

AT: Common, Mos Def, Talib, there are so many.

SM: What would you like your legacy to be, how would you like to be remembered?

AT: As someone who was not self centered who cared about others and most importantly who was able to turn trash into treasure. My art gave me a chance to live again, what I was doing at 9, I am still doing at 29.

For more information on Abramz and about the work he is doing, check out: www.abramz.com

Many thanks to Abramz and the Breakdance Project Uganda crew for letting me into their world. Keep moving king!