Bebe Cool, born on 1st September 1977 and he is a top African Reggea and Ragga/dancehall artist from Uganda who sings in Luganda, Swahili, and English. His real names are real names Moses Ssali and he is a son to a famous Ugandan politician Jabeli Bidandi Ssali and is married to Zuena Kirema and has 5 Children.
He is the most awarded musician in Uganda, the second most followed Ugandan celebrity on Facebook as of 2016 October, the second most successful musician on the International scenes with his songs featuring on all major African channels, rated the best Live performer in Uganda by fans, one of the most influential social celebrities in the Country and a philanthropist.
Music Career
He started his career around 1997 in Nairobi, Kenya where he was working with Ogopa Deejays a production house but a few years later he moved back to his native country Uganda and helped revolve the music from Congolese to Ugandans with popular hits like”Fitina”, “Mambo Mingi” and boarder breaker “Trust No People.”
Later on in early 2000’s he also collaborated with a Ugandan music veteran Halima Namakula on a crossover track dubbed “Sambagala”. He has also released several albums his latest being “Go Mama Album 2016.
United with Kenyan stars Nazizi and Wyre (Necessary Noize), Bebe Cool formed a reggae group known as the East African Bashment Crew where they released so many hit songs like the “Fire” album “Africa Unite”, “Kube” et.c songs that made the group to be nominated at the inaugural (2008) MTV Africa Music Awards.
In January 2010 he was injured when by policeman who shot at him in centenary park but was later compensated for by the government when the president of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni visited him in hospital and pledged uganda Shs.400 Millions. On 11 July 2010, Bebe Cool was performing at the Kyadondo Rugby grounds when a bomb set by Somali Islamist terrorists group “Al-Shabaab” exploded and according to Bebe Cool most people who died were just in front of him because the blast was so loud and the next thing he saw were body parts flying over him.
Bebe Cool is one of the few selected artists who performed for Nelson Mandela’s birthday the “46664 concert” at Hyde Park London and was named by Nelson Mandela as the 46664 African ambassador a campaign of raising awareness against HIV /AIDS that was initiated by the late Nelson Mandela.
In 2014 Bebe Cool’s Born in Africa remix originally done by the late Philly Bongole Lutaaya was voted among Africa’s greatest songs of all times and it came at number 15 in Fifty anthems for the African continent as suggested BBC World Service listeners as the African song that summed up the continent to them.
Bebe Cool has performed in the Big Brother house twice. In 2013, Bebe Cool had a music battle with one of Nigeria’s top artists D’banj in a neutral place Glamis Arena Harare Zimbabwe in a show that was organized under the theme “Battle for Africa” where Bebe Cool pulled off a great performance winning D’banj.
In 2015, Bebe Cool released another 14 track album called “Go Mama Album” aka “GMAU15” just before his yearly concert titled “Best Of Bebe Cool” at one of Kampala’s most luxurious hotels called Serena Hotel which was the first sold out concert at that hotel. The Go Mama Album unlike other Ugandan albums each song was mastered in London by a renowned producer called Oscar Lo Brutto.
Bebe Cool has won so many awards over the years ever since 2004. He is so far the most awarded artist in Uganda as of 2016. He has been nominated various times starting with the Pearl Of Africa Music Awards aka PAM Awards. He was also nominated for the Kora All-African Awards in 2003 and 2005, MTV Music Awards 2015 and 2016. African Entertainment Awards 2016, AFRIMA Awards and very many other awards.
Bebe Cool has held different tours in the UK, Dubai and the United States of America and Europe.
In 2015/2016 General Presidential Campaigns, Bebe Cool led fellow artists in forming a campaign song Tubonga Nawe, a song that worked as the official campaign song of the National Resistance Movement and he was the chief performing artist in all the rallies made by the NRM Flag bearer Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. This however much it earned him support from those who supported NRM, it sparked a lot of criticism from music fans who even made calls to boycott his concerts, those these calls were not fruitful as he managed to organize one of the most successful concerts in 2016 at Kampala Serena Hotel later that year in August.
Bebe Cool has continued to be a strong supporter of the NRM Government and in 2018, he organized a music concert at Serena dubbed The Golden Heart concert which was graced by His Excellence Yoweri Kaguta Museveni the President of Uganda as the guest of honor.
