On the same night that Uganda’s nightlife ended a 2-year shutdown, Bebe Cool confirmed he is set to face off with his contemporary, Jose Chameleone, in a music battle.
The two performed on the same stage on Comedy Store at Levels Lounge on Monday before a crowd of thrilled revelers.
“You see me here with Dr Jose Chameleone. No concert gets better than this. But y’all are not ready for us when we battle in Lugogo. The ‘Doctor’ has opened the chapter officially and asked for a battle with the man from Kiwatule in Lugogo Cricket Oval,” Bebe Cool told revelers.
“But I ask only one thing of you the fans. I don’t know if you (fans) will handle this battle coz I want it to go up to 7am in the morning.”
The dates for this showdown are not yet set but the history of the two singers leaves expectation to nothing but a night of nostalgia, energy and thrilling entertainment. Cool has previously battled with Radio and Weasel, and Bobi Wine on two separate concerts.
ALSO READ: Bebe Cool’s Stardom In Nairobi Is What Pushed Chameleone To Leave Uganda – Chagga
On Monday night, the Gyenvudde said he has a lot of respect for Chameleone. To elaborate this, he likened it to Jay Z sitting in the midst of MJ’s performance watching.
He complimented Chameleone’s latest single, Forever, which he said is well written. The two performed the song together on the same stage.
“My album has been delayed a bit but I can assure you it is coming,” Cool said.
In November last year, Bebe Cool mooted the idea of a battle with Chameleone saying this is long overdue.
“It’s Mayanja that I’m waiting for. I feel we shall be cheating Uganda and Africa if we don’t hold this concert. We both have enough music, a huge fan base and it would be a fantastic show,” Bebe Cool said then.
“With the previous two battles I did, I outsmarted my competitors because I did research about their music prior to the shows unlike them”.
Each of the two stars credited for pioneering the Afropop sound in Uganda, has a music catalogue spanning over two decades since they launched their singing careers in Nairobi.
Chameleone who back then went by the name Raggaman Jose had been doing karaoke (mostly ragga) in hangouts in Kampala, until he thought it was time to try his luck in Nairobi.
Nairobi-based Ogopa Deejays studio produced Chameleone’s and Bebe Cool’s maiden albums.
Bebe Cool (formerly Bebe Bunton) had left Kampala earlier, in 1997 immediately after completing his S6 exams at Kololo S.S. And while at Ogopa Deejays, he recorded songs like King of the Jungle (his first song), Fitina and Mambo Mingi.
Many years later, Chameleone and Cool have each consolidated their wins, churning out dozens of albums and several records that have had them dominate the Ugandan music scene for two decades. Decades characterized by physical and lyrical fights which pitted their camps against each other and drove shrewd competition.
