Kampala Flow
In the summer of 2008 East African rap artists in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, dared to write from their “socially conscious notebooks” rather than draw from their “club tracks.” Topics included human relationships, rape, school fees, HIV/AIDS, gender issues, spousal abuse, and inheritance rights.

Socially conscious rap is a risky business in Uganda. On the one hand, Kampala-based groups such as Klear Cut and Bataka Squad have committed to socially conscious rapping since the late 1990s and gained fans as a result. On the other hand, studio owners such as GK and Dawoo have not been so fortunate. They continue to make most of their income outside of hip hop supplementing their work with advertising for local businesses and multinational corporations as well as producing radio dramas with local NGOs. And lately, Klear Cut has done likewise to bolster their international touring. Added to these inconsistencies is the suspicion of local radio stations, who view local rap and hip hop