Babaluku, born Silas Babaluku Balabyekkubo, is a Ugandan rapper, musician, producer, community youth activist and social entrepreneur who raps in

Luganda The Ganda language or Luganda (, , ) is a Bantu language spoken in the African Great Lakes region. It is one of the major languages in Uganda and is spoken by more than 10 million Baganda and other people principally in central Uganda including ...

. He is a member of the

Bataka Squad Bataka Squad (formerly Bataka Underground) is a Ugandan hip hop group. The group was formed by Babaluku (a.k.a. Sniperous MC), Saba Saba aka Krazy Native and Big Poppa Momo MC. Founded in the mid-1990s, it is one of the earliest hip hop groups ...

. He is the founder of "the Bavubuka Foundation which equips the youth with leadership skills". He is one of the pioneers of "Lugaflow" which is rap music in Luganda. He was featured in a 2008 documentary "Diamonds in the Rough: A Ugandan Hip-hop Revolution" that covered his journey from his crew’s early days of performing in Uganda to performing in at festivals in the United States of America.

Early life and education

Bababuluku was born in Kampala, Uganda in 1979. He is the first born of eight children to the late Pastor Deo Balabaekubo and Mrs Christine Balabyekubo. He went to Emen Memorial and Molly and Paul Primary schools in Makindye and eventually left for Canada when he was 12 years old. He is a graduate of sound engineering from British Columbia academy in Vancouver.

Music

Babaluku started his music career in 1994. He is one of the pioneers of Lugaflow, which is rap in Luganda. He has a number of awards including a Pearl of Africa Award for Best Hip Hop Single and Buzz Teen Awards for Best Hip Hop Artist. The documentary "Diamonds in the Rough" in which he featured, won the Audience Choice Award at Dances With Films Festival and Best Feature Documentary at Peace on Earth Film Festival. In 2010 Babaluku was honored by the Ugandan Cultural Association for his Excellence and also chosen as Pioneer of the Year by the Words Beats & Life Remix Teach-In Awards.

Discography

*Luga flow revolution

Awards and recognition

*2007 Pearl of Africa Award for Best Hip Hop Single *2007 Buzz Teen Awards for Best Hip Hop Artist. *Best audience Choice Award at Dances With Films Festival for the documentary "Diamonds in the Rough" *Best Feature Documentary at Peace on Earth Film Festival for the documentary "Diamonds in the Rough". *Honoured in 2010 Babaluku by the Uganda Canadian Cultural Association for his Excellence *Pioneer of the Year by the Words Beats & Life Remix Teach-In Awards.

References

External links

"Does luga-flow symbolize Ugandan hip-hop / rap music?"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Babaluku 1979 births Ugandan rappers Living people Kumusha