Paid in Full (PIF) about 10 years ago released “Just a Beat“. All they wanted was for us to let it play.
They (Mickey SoLow and Felipe Pif) featured on Baru’s iconic ReDefinitions beat – we definitely have been letting it play. But, it was not just a beat. An instrumental laden with 808s and a sample of American Rapper Young Thug. Baru was set to redefine the game, at his terms.
Baru featured Tucker HD, Patrobas, Ruyonga, Enygma, Play01, Timothy Code, Ninja C, Abaasa, Pryce Teeba, Jimmi Atoms and Paid in Full.
The concept of the project was for each artiste to reflect and re-evaluate. They were to offer a fresh perspective on love, being fly, and more. Pryce Teeba at the time used the beat to announce his Kambajulire tape.
Baru announced the re-release via X.com.
The project was previously only available on Soundcloud, Reverbnation and music sites.
There’s also the famous story of Baru calling everyone back to the studio. Baru wanted the artistes to do a full 16 bars track instead of the 8 bars earlier discussed.
The EP has 12 tracks. According to Meta data, Baru released it as Baru with Soaw Media and Ria Entertainment. This release was different from his former affiliates, Dustville.
10 years later we reflect on how pivotal this project was.
According to an interview with The Tribe UG Baru stated that it was meant to be a beat EP.
What started as a beat became a whole musical expression. Rappers and singers used the beat to express themselves. Each rapper or artiste had 1:36 seconds.
“Yes, Initially I wanted it to be a beat EP, 5 beats but then I was like why don’t I experiment with it and get artists (rappers & singers) onto the first beat. In addition it would also attract people to listen to the EP. So today I’m releasing the beat but starting Monday I will release the solo verses of the beat for a period of ten days. Then the other beats will be released after a period of 2weeks.” via The Tribe UG
A healthy competition, a posse of sorts or even an answer to the future response to attention spans. It gave us a fresh
But what is really the ReDefinitions beat? What was it’s impact?
- Put Ntinda back on the UG Rap map
- Opened doors for future collaborations
- Changed the sound of Ugandan rap
- Baru laid a foundation for his curating role in the culture
- Made us love the trap sound he helped shape
- Influenced many artistes to jump on the challenge
- Shifted the culture while at it.
By press time the project was available on Spotify and Youtube Music.
10 years later; whose verse was the best for you?
Stream it now:
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