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For years, Bebe Cool had his eyes set on landing music collaborations with some of the biggest artists on the continent, only to be sorely disappointed.
The Ugandan music legend is now revealing how his efforts to team up with Nigerian artists like Burna Boy and Davido hit a snag.
Rejection Due to Online Numbers
In a radio interview discussing his newly released album Break the Chains, Bebe Cool revealed that for years he had been pursuing collaborations with these top-tier musicians, but was met with rejection.
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The 16-track album includes collaborations with Cheque feat Joshua Baraka, Games feat Dj Edu, and the fan-favourite African Love feat Yemi Alade, one of Nigeria's top artists.
Bebe Cool says his ambition to collaborate with Burna Boy and Davido began long before the pandemic, and he believed that such collaborations would elevate his music career internationally.
“Yemi Alade, of course, is a household name. That song (African Love), I had done it about 6 or 7 years ago; that was the time I had started doing collabos with the likes of Rude Boy, Tay Grin, Sauti Sol and others.
“At the time, I had embarked on a journey of doing as many collabos as possible, and I expected to end up doing music with the likes of Davido, Burna Boy and others.”
He says, however, that when he reached out to them, they were not happy with his numbers online.
Bebe Cool
Online presence
Although he was an influential and experienced artist in Uganda, his online music streams and social media following weren’t good enough for them.
"Music then had started to move online, but my old songs had no numbers there," he said.
“Yes, I had the name, but I did not have the numbers online. Music then had started to move online, but my old songs had no numbers there.
“They googled me and recognised that I was a big name in Uganda and experienced from way back, but the problem was that I had no numbers.
“They checked my following on social media, they checked the streams, but it was not good enough. Even though I could afford to pay up to $100,000 for a collabo, they said, I did not have anything to add to their careers, and they turned me down”
Despite the setbacks, Bebe Cool remains hopeful and continues to advise up-and-coming musicians on the importance of building their online presence.
He believes that investing in music albums is a key strategy to boost streaming numbers and increase exposure to a global audience.