The above short film documents the writing and recording of MUGOGO!, the recently released 22-song album from Kenyan rapper Ziller Bas and Swiss producer FlexFab, over the course of two weeks the two spent together in Kilifi, Kenya in early 2020. Continentally connected to South African gqom, the album has a distinctly hybrid sound of its own — cosmopolitan in its production style, with supremely refined and energetic vocal performances by Bas in a dialect he describes as Sweng Flow, a combination of Swahili, English, and Giriama. I really encourage you to watch the film; it’s beautifully put together, and provides a lot of personal context for the album, all of which makes the record that much more exciting.

I selected a couple of my favorites from the album, but it’s really solid throughout. It’s streaming now, or it can be purchased in a gorgeous deluxe vinyl package on bandcamp.

FlexFab & Ziller Bas – “Haha! Haha!” ft. Jimmy Pé (sc)

FlexFab & Ziller Bas – “Fullu!” (sc)

FlexFab & Ziller Bas – “Oya Baba!” ft. Gafacci (sc)