Rowland Raymond Kaiza (born 1990), better known by his stage name BigTril is a Ugandan

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

, producer and

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...

. He is widely known for his single hit "Parte After Parte".and giddem ft Beenie Gunter

Early life

Rowland was born in 1990 in

Uganda }), is a landlocked country in East Africa. The country is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the south by Tanzania. The south ...

. He was raised as the fourth child out of five by single mother, Esther Nankinga. He attended Turkish Light Academy for his O and A-levels before graduating and gaining admission to

Makerere University Makerere University, Kampala (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922. It became an independent national university in 1970. Today, Makerere University is composed of n ...

for a bachelor's degree in

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

and

Mass Communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large segments of the population. It is usually understood for relating to various forms of media, as its technologies are used for the dissemination o ...

. He was a very smart student with good grades. He dropped out after one year to pursue a musical career.

Career

2010-2018: Career beginnings, minor hits with Baboon Forest Entertainment, signing to new label, Striker Entertainment

Rowland has stated his stage name, BigTril, to be an acronym for "Born in Greatness To Rise into a Legend". He did a lot of rhymes and poetry in high school but claimed that he never planned to venture into music but it rather 'called out' to him.

"It just called out to me. I had good grades but after I was done with school, I just told my mum I wanted to do music. She wasn't surprised because she told me when she met my dad he was a DJ. She said she would support me and she has been very supportive ever since. I started in 2011 and the journey has been dope; but like any other journey, you have your ups and downs. It hasn't been easy but then in life nothing is easy." - BigTril

Rowland started out by battle rapping also known as underground rap while still in

at Club Rouge and Nana hostel. It was during one of these rapping sessions that he hooked up with

GNL Zamba GNL Zamba, born Ernest Nsimbi, (29 January 1986) is a hip hop artist in Uganda, credited with bringing rap and Lugaflow style of music to mainstream radio and other media in Uganda. His stage name, GNL, is short for "Greatness With No Limits". ...

(GNL popularized Lugaflow before relocating to the United States) who signed him to Baboon Forest Entertainment. He worked with BFE for three years before working as a radio host on X Fm (a radio station in Uganda). During this time, he released minor hit singles that failed to gain popularity outside Uganda such as "Push Harder" in 2012, "Pretty Girls" in 2015, "Bad Gyal Ting" in 2017 and "Giddem". Rowland left Baboon Forest Entertainment when he met John Obas Isokpehi, CEO of Striker Entertainment, a Nigerian label based in Uganda who got him signed.

2019-Present: Breakthrough with "Parte After Parte" and planned upcoming debut concert

Rowland released his breakthrough single "Parte After Parte" in August 2019 with the official music video on 13 September 2019. It currently have 2.1million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. The song received a lot of airplay in places outside Uganda including

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of G ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

and

Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

where it became gained popularity after Rowland performed it during the Nyege Nyege festival, eventually becoming an unofficial anthem. It peaked at number one on the African Music Chart. It peaked at number one on the

Apple Music Apple Music is a music, audio and video streaming service developed by Apple Inc. Users select music to stream to their device on-demand, or they can listen to existing playlists. The service also includes the Internet radio stations Apple ...

Top 100 charts in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Malawi and number two on the Apple Music Top 100: Nigeria chart behind

Davido David Adedeji Adeleke (born November 21, 1992), popularly known by his stage name Davido, is an American-Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. His music blends traditional African elements with global mainstream pop. Davido is widel ...

and

Popcaan Andrae Hugh Sutherland (born 19 July 1988), known professionally as Popcaan, is a Jamaican singer. In 2008, Popcaan joined Vybz Kartel's Gaza Music Empire. In 2010, he released his breakthrough international hit "Clarks" with Kartel, an ode ...

's "Risky". It also peaked at number one on

BBC Radio 1Xtra BBC Radio 1Xtra is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts black music and urban music, including hip hop and R&B and is a sister station to Radio 1. Launching at 18:00 on 16 August 2002, it had been ...

's DJ Edo DNA's Top 5 countdown. It also peaked in the top 10 positions on the

Boomplay Music Boomplay or Boomplay Music is a media streaming and download service developed by Transsnet Music Limited. The service was first launched in Nigeria in 2015 by TECNO Mobile, Transsion Holdings. Boomplay has a freemium and subscription based serv ...

Top 100: Nigeria chart. BigTril planned to embark on his debut concert in early 2020 sometime in the month of March.

Live Performances

BigTril has performed with numerous popular African artistes such as

Wizkid Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun (born 16 July 1990), known professionally as Wizkid, is a Nigerian singer and songwriter. A prominent figure in the modern-day Afrobeats music scene, Wizkid is regarded as one of the biggest and most influential Afric ...

who he has performed with twice at Kololo and at Starboy Fest,

Kizz Daniel Oluwatobiloba Daniel Anidugbe, (born 1 May 1994) better known by his stage name Kizz Daniel, is a Yoruba singer and songwriter. He is best known for his singles " Woju" and "Yeba". He went by the stage name Kiss Daniel prior to changing it in May ...

and

Naira Marley Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer and song writer. He is known as the president of his controversial fan base, "Marlians". Education At the age of 11, he moved to Pec ...

at Marlian Fest. Apart from his planned debut concert, he also planned to perform at

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...

Afrochella Afrofuture (stylized as AfroFuture), formerly known as Afrochella, is an African music festival that started in 2019. Background AfroFuture is one of several cultural events that takes place in Ghana in December, including the Afro Nation festi ...

concert. His biggest single, "Parte After Parte", gained recognition in Kenya after he performed it during the four-day Nyege Nyege festival two weeks after its release. It became an unofficial Nyege Nyege festival anthem.

Possible Future Collaborations

During a five-day trip in Uganda, Nigerian-American singer and rapper,

Jidenna Jidenna Theodore Mobisson (born May 4, 1985), known mononymously as Jidenna, is an American rapper and singer. In 2015, Jidenna released two singles, " Classic Man" (featuring Roman GianArthur and Kendrick Lamar) and "Yoga" (with Janelle Monáe) ...

revealed plans of a possible collaboration with BigTril,

Eddy Kenzo Edrisah Musuuza, known professionally as Eddy Kenzo, is a Grammy Nominated Ugandan singer and music executive who is a founder and a member of Big Talent Entertainment. He received international attention after the release of his 2014 single, "S ...

and

Fik Fameica Walukagga Shafik (born 10 January 1996), is a Ugandan rapper better known by his stage name Fik Fameica a.k.a. Fresh Bwoy. His debut came in 2015 with "Pistol" under the Black Man Town music label, led by a Ugandan music icon Geosteady. His later ...

. Sailors, a Kenyan group known for their "Wamlambez" single and BigTril performed at the Valentine's Jamboree Concert in

Nairobi Nairobi ( ) is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The name is derived from the Maasai phrase ''Enkare Nairobi'', which translates to "place of cool waters", a reference to the Nairobi River which flows through the city. The city prope ...

where they talked about the possibility of a collaboration. At Ole Sereni Hotel, Miracle Baby, lead singer of Sailors said, "Artistes talk to each other and when they meet, they attract each other, so a collab is coming." BigTril who has a growing interest in Kenya's music scene with songs like "Wamlambez" and "Figa" also voiced the possibility of a collaboration. In a tweet, DJ Tunez (Wizkid's main producer and DJ) hinted at a collaboration between the two artistes.

Parte After Parte (single)

Background and inspiration

BigTril has discussed the inspiration behind the song saying it came when he was in the studio and decided to take a break when he got no vibe. He watched a video on Instagram. The clip was taken from a TV interview with Ugandan-American pastor,

Martin Ssempa Martin Ssempa (born 1968) is a Ugandan pastor, activist, and the founder of the Makerere Community Church. He referred to himself as Pastor Doctor Martin Ssempa, but now calls himself Gabriel Baaba Gwanga'mujje Eri Yesu. Ssempa first came to i ...

NBS Television NBS Television is a Ugandan television network owned by Next Media Services. It is headquartered at Next Media Park, Plot 13, Summit View Road, Naguru, Kampala District. Background The story of Next Media Services started with the founding of ...

in December 2012. Martin Ssempa made controversial comments while talking about the

LGBTQ ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is ...

community. In a heated argument with an LGBTQ rights activist, Ssempe complained about how the youth only care about the glamorous life of partying day after day, "party, after party". BigTril replaced the 'y' in 'party' with 'e' so it became 'parte' which he repeated over and over until it became a catchy hook. He produced the beat and wrote the song on the same day.

Composition

"Parte After Parte" is a hip-hop/rap song that runs for two minutes and forty-seven seconds with a fast beat which sounds like an early 2000s hip-hop song from any Anglophone African country with arrangements of a suo or konto sound infused in it.

Promotion and popularity

BigTril performed the song during the four-day Nyege Nyege festival held in Jinja, Kenya two weeks after its release. It became an unofficial Nyege Nyege festival anthem. The song grew more popular when it was used in memes that circulated round the internet catching the attention of Nigerian, South African and Kenyan citizens as well as other nations. Nigerian artistes such as

Zlatan Ibile Omoniyi Temidayo Raphael (born 19 December 1994), known professionally as Zlatan Ibile, is a Nigerian rapper and singer. He is the chief executive officer and founder of Zanku records. In 2014, he won the Airtel-sponsored One Mic talent show held ...

, and

Olamide Olamide Gbenga Adedeji (born 15 March 1989) is a Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. Widely regarded as one of the biggest and most influential artists in Africa, he has been instrumental to the launching of the careers ...

expressed their love for the song with Wizkid endorsing it and Davido calling it a 'nice song'. Olamide was seen singing to it in a video he posted on social media.

Mayorkun Adewale Mayowa Emmanuel (born 23 March 1994), known professionally as Mayorkun, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and pianist. He released a cover of Davido's "The Money" single and was discovered by the singer on Twitter. Mayorkun was signed to ...

, another Nigerian artist also posted a video of him singing the song on his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

story. Its popularity was not limited to only African nations. American

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

winning rapper,

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Almánzar Cephus (, ; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper and songwriter. She first gained popularity as an influencer on Vine and Instagram. From 2015 to early 2017, she appeared as ...

posted a video of her and husband,

Offset Offset or Off-Set may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Off-Set", a song by T.I. and Young Thug from the '' Furious 7: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack'' * ''Offset'' (EP), a 2018 EP by singer Kim Chung-ha * ''Offset'' (film), a 200 ...

singing and dancing to the song while leaving a bar on the latter's birthday. "Parte After Parte" was one of ten African songs listed in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

's ''2019 in African pop: 10 must-listen tracks'' published on Christmas Eve 2019.

Music video

An official music video directed by Kino Filmz was released on 13 September 2019. It hit a million views after three months. As of September 2020, the video has 1.9 million views. It's still growing up as it currently have 2.1 million views as of October 2022.

Commercial performance

"Parte After Parte" peaked at number one on the

Top 100 charts in Uganda, Kenya, Zambia and Malawi. It charted at the 11th, 8th and 6th places before peaking at number two on the

Top 100: Nigeria chart behind Davido and Popcaan's "Risky". It also peaked at number one on

's DJ Edu DNA's Top 5 countdown.

Possible remix

BigTril said that some Nigerian and South African artistes have approached him to record a remix but he knows some Kenyan artistes who can make the cut.

Artistry

Influences

Rowland draws inspiration from Jay-Z,

Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

and

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

. Rowland is a big fan of Kenyan artistes such as Madtraxx,

Sauti Sol Sauti Sol is a Kenyan band formed in Nairobi, Kenya, by vocalists Bien-Aimé Baraza, Willis Chimano and Savara Mudigi in 2005. Initially an a cappella group, guitarist Polycarp Otieno joined before they named themselves Sauti Sol. Sauti Sol ...

and Khaligraph Jones. He admires rapper, Keko and Klear Kut legend,

Navio (rapper) Daniel Lubwama Kigozi (popularly known as Navio, born 18 October 1983) is a Ugandan rapper and record producer. Starting off his career, he was part of the award-winning hip hop group Klear Kut that introduced the term "Ugaflow" to describe U ...

Genre

As a rapper, Rowland's songs are mainly hip-hop. However, when asked about his genre, he said,

"I don't belong to any genre, that's putting labels on art. I believe art is formless and the best way to express yourself. I've always been a rapper but now I produce my own music. I produced "Parte After Parte" myself. Since I started production, I don't want to box myself into any genre. I'm a vibes creator. As long as it's a vibe and I can imagine it, then I create it."

Style

BigTril raps in a mixture of

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

and

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 ...

Personal life

Rowland is currently single but said he could wed a Kenyan woman if she was suitable. He has called Ugandan female model,

Lydia Jazmine Lydia Nabawanuka (born in Masaka in 1991) better known as Lydia Jazmine is a Ugandan female recording artist. Background and education She was born in Masaka in 1991. She attended Victoria Nile School for her elementary school. She then transf ...

the "hottest model". Rowland has been open on how depression almost ruined his career before meeting John Obas Isokpehi, the CEO of Striker Entertainment.

Tattoos

On his tattoos, "Yeah, I have three. I have the

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...

and

star A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth make ...

for King

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. Eagles fly alone in the clouds, the mantra signifies knowledge and King David defeated

Goliath Goliath ( ) ''Goləyāṯ''; ar, جُليات ''Ǧulyāt'' (Christian term) or (Quranic term). is a character in the Book of Samuel, described as a Philistine giant defeated by the young David in single combat. The story signified King Saul's ...

. He inspires me to take on challenges.

Comments on Ugandan 2021 Presidential Candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu

When Kyadondo East lawmaker,

Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, known by his stage name Bobi Wine, is a Ugandan politician, singer, and actor. He is a former Member of Parliament for Kyadondo County East constituency in Wakiso District, in Uganda's Central Region. He also lea ...

also known by his stage name Bobi Wine, announced his bid to run for President in the Ugandan 2021 general election, BigTril noted that he will be disappointed if his manifesto doesn't include enforcing the copyright law in Uganda to protect content creators for the years he has been in the culture and creative industry. This was days after he complained of Uganda's music industry being broke.

"If Bobi Wine doesn't talk about enforcing the copyright law in Uganda to protect content creators in his manifesto then I'll be really disappointed" - BigTril

Awards and nominations

BigTril has won two

Buzz Teeniez Awards Buzz Teeniez Awards is an annual award ceremony in Kampala, Uganda that was started in 2007 by a magazine called ''Buzz''. The Buzz Teeniez Awards are catered to teen viewers to honor the biggest achievers in television, music, gospel, Dee Jays, ...

for Hottest Hip-Hop Song of the Year and Hottest Song of the Year for "Parte After Parte" in 2019. BigTril won a Zzina award in 2020 in the Best Lugaflow/Rap Song category for "Parte After Parte".

Discography

;Singles *Wangi *Batuwulira (featuring

Fille Mutoni Fille Mutoni (born 25 July 1991), is a Ugandan recording artist. She has collaborated with Radio and Weasel and Bruce Melodie from Rwanda, among others. She had her first music concert in March 2018 at Golf course Hotel which was very succes ...

) *Giddem (featuring

Beenie Gunter Baguma Crescent, popularly known as Beenie Gunter, is a Ugandan reggae dancehall artist, commonly known for his hit songs ''Pon Mi'' and ''Olina Work'', the latter, a collaboration with Nigerian artist Skales. He released his 25 track debut stud ...

) *Awo *No Yawa *Sibalaba *Rollin Dank *She Got Me Blind (2011) *Push Harder (2012) *Your Ways (2014) *Pretty Girls (2015) *Bad Gyal Ting' (2017) *Faya (2017) *Why They Hate (2018) *We Good (2018) *Parte After Parte (2019) *Feel like ft FlexD' Paper *Og ft Vector,Larry gaaga,raezy. *Mamacita. *

References

{{Authority control Ugandan rappers Makerere University alumni Living people 1990 births