KAMAUU

American singer and rapper (born 1991)

KAMAUU

Background information
Birth name| Kamau Mbonisi Kwame Agyeman
Born|  (1991-02-02) February 2, 1991 (age 33)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Origin| Brooklyn, New York City
Genres|

* Hip hop
* rap
* R&B
* soul
* funk

Occupations|

* Rapper
* singer

Years active| 2014–present
Labels|

* Méré Dané Records
* Atlantic
* Invisible Firm

Website| www.KAMAUU.world

Musical artist

Kamau Mbonisi Kwame Agyeman, known professionally by his stage name, KAMAUU (formerly KAMAU and brother KAMAU, and always written in all caps), is an American singer and rapper based in Maryland. He released his debut EP, A Gorgeous Fortune, in 2016.

## Early life and education

[edit]

Kamau Mbonisi Kwame Agyeman was born on February 2, 1991, in Washington, D.C.[1] and grew up in Prince George's County, Maryland.[2] His parents introduced him and his two siblings to music at a young age.[1] His older brother is a fellow musician who goes by the stage name, Nkō Khélí.[3] As a child, Agyeman attended school at the Ujamaa Shule in Washington which is described as the "oldest completely independent Afrikan-centered school in the United States". While at the school, he was exposed to a variety of traditional African instruments like the djembe, and he studied African music, history, and culture.[1][4] KAMAUU first started releasing music in 2007 while attending Frederick Douglass High School, in Prince Georges County Maryland, after being taught how to use Garageband by his cousin and best friend, "Kevo", in the computer labs of their high school. KAMAUU credits a deep gratitude to Mr.Woodyear, the high school computer graphics teacher who would allow KAMAUU and his cousin to record and produce music after school hours as much as they wanted. This time was pivotal to KAMAUU's development as a musician. After learning production and recording fundamentals, KAMAUU began to upload his first makeshift self recorded songs to the internet, thus making his humble introduction to the digital world as a musician. KAMAUU's first efforts at instrumental production were rudimentary nothing more that premade Garageband stock loops stitched together, eventually featuring musical typing from stock instruments. Another pivotal event in KAMAUU's musical and stylistic development came when a school wide computer glitch deleted the stock loops and midi instruments from Garageband in all of the computers throughout the entire school. In order to keep producing, KAMAUU began to use his voice to imitate the melodic and percussive midi instruments and loops, that the computers lost, in his production as a placeholder until the software glitch was fixed. The glitch, however, was never rectified and thus KAMAUU's vocal heavy production style was born. In 2009, he moved to Brooklyn, New York where he began attending the Pratt Institute to study film. While at Pratt, he met other musicians and artists and was introduced to the artist collective, BiGCiTYBiGCiTY. Members of the collective helped him hone his musical skills.[2] He later graduated from Pratt in 2014 with a BA in Film.[4][5] Though he was born in DC he is a NY sharpened and MD based artist with highly experimental sound.[6]

## Career

[edit]

In February 2014, KAMAUU released a mixtape called TheKAMAU-CASSETTE.[2] In 2015,[7] Agyeman received recognition for his song covers including those for Outkast's "Hey Ya!" and Adele's "Hometown Glory".[8] In May 2016, he released a video for his song, "Jambo". The video was the first in a six-part series of films that would be made for each song on his A Gorgeous Fortune EP.[9] Another single (and its accompanying video) from that collection called "Jusfayu" (featuring No Wyld) was released in June 2016.[10] It would go on to be featured on an episode of the HBO series, Insecure[11] and on the soundtrack for FIFA 17.[12] It has also accumulated over 10 million streams on various platforms as of August 2019.[13] A remix of the song by Lion Babe was released later in June 2016.[14] A Gorgeous Fortune itself came out in July 2016 on Invisible Firm and was followed by a KAMAUU summer tour with Lion Babe.[10][15]

KAMAUU pictured w/ Father in the cover of TheKAMAUU-CASSETTE: MíXD GRēēNS

In 2016, KAMAUU helped co-found "DoloBhana" with his long term friend, DJ, and musical partner, -Moon (pronounced "dash Moon): a multi-disciplinary artist collective that was based in an apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.[2] The DoloBhana became a home and creative launchpad to an array of extremely talented artists, including the likes of Siimbiie Lakew, Haile Supreme, Nkō Khélí, Marquez Martin, Michael Excell, and many others. In October 2016, KAMAUU was featured on the soundtrack for the film, The Birth of a Nation, with the song, "The Icarus".[1] The following month, he released the single, "MĭNT" featuring Talibah Safiya.[16] The music video for that song came out in January 2017.[12] It would serve as the lead single for his second mixtape entitled TheKAMAU-CASSETTE: ŭRTH GōLD which was released in September 2017.[17] In February 2018, he was featured on the Kota the Friend song, "Black Sheep".[18] In March of that year, KAMAUU was featured on the Topaz Jones track, "Pleasure Pain Passion".[19] Later that month, he played a show in Nairobi, Kenya at the Thrift Social installation.[20]

After a year, he returned with the track "Patiently" as part of the collaborative project, Splash Brothers, which also features Allan Kingdom, Topaz Jones, Haile Supreme, and SIIMBA SELASSIIE.[21] In May 2019 he began using his current stage name, KAMAUU, and was featured on the Marques Martin song, "Dinner Date".[22] The following month he was featured on the Stella Santana song, "Tell The Truth".[23] In July of that year, he released a four-track EP entitled TheKAMAUU-CASSETTE: MíXD GRēēNS.[24] Music videos for two of the EP's songs ("clover" and "bamboo") were released the following month.[13][25] In 2020, KAMAUU released many singles, one of which, “MANGO feat. Adeline” reached huge success and as of 2024 is KAMAUU’s most popular song.

After a long break that saw little activity from KAMAUU, he returned in April 2023 with Atlantic Recording Corporation to release his second album, “LACUNA in The House of Mirrors”, featuring 11 tracks, including 2 songs released earlier as singles, “flings” and “antidote”. He finished the year collaborating with Mike Schultz to create the producer duo "A Thousand Faces" in their debute release “Where There Are Dreams There Are Dragons, Vol.1”, an entirely instrumental and Global Culture-inspired album released by Upside Records. The two creators followed up on this album with a single not included in the album of the same name in March 2024.

Image from KAMAUU Music Video for "WEIDAMINEH"

Earlier in the year, KAMAUU released two other singles, named “Danger” and “GARDEN”, in January and February, respectively. The latter came to quick success and prompted a dance mix of the song to be released in June, along with a fourth single of the year, “WEIDAMINEH”, with TrapCellist and Siimbiie Lakew. His most recent single "HOLY SPIRIT", premiering September 20th 2024, brought with it news of an upcoming album entitled "The Romantic Spirituals". KAMAUU describes this upcoming album as "A collection of Romantic, Sensual, Intimate, Adorative, & Appreciative Love Songs To The Creator of All Things Within and Out of the Self(s), The Ancestors, & Our Descendants yet to come (and the oneness of the Creator through all these things)". "The Romantic Spirituals", set to include both "GARDEN" and "HOLY SPIRIT" is due to be release in February of 2025.

## Discography

[edit]

### Mixtapes

[edit]

List of mixtapes with selected details  Title  | Details

|

TheKAMAU-CASSETTE |

* Released: February 15, 2014 (US)
* Label: Self-released
* Formats: Digital download

TheKAMAU-CASSETTE: ŭRTH GōLD |

* Released: September 12, 2017 (US)
* Label: Invisible Firm
* Formats: Digital download

LACUNA in The House of Mirrors |

* Released: April 28, 2023 (US)
* Label: Atlantic
* Formats: Digital download

Where There Are Dreams There Are Dragons, Vol. 1 |

* Released: December 31, 2023 (US)
* Label: Upside Records
* Formats: Digital download

### EPs

[edit]

List of EPs with selected details  Title  | Details

|

A Gorgeous Fortune |

* Released: July 1, 2016 (US)
* Label: Invisible Firm
* Formats: Digital download

TheKAMAUU-CASSETTE: MíXD GRēēNS |

* Released: July 30, 2019 (US)
* Label: Atlantic
* Formats: Digital download

### Singles

[edit]

List of singles with selected details  Title  | Year  | Album

|
|

"Jambo"  | 2016  | A Gorgeous Fortune
"Jusfayu" (feat. No Wyld)
"The Icarus"  | The Birth of a Nation: The Inspired By Album
"MĭNT" (feat. Talibah Safiya)  | TheKAMAU-CASSETTE: ŭRTH GōLD
"GRā" (feat. Nkō Khélí)  | 2017
"clover"  | 2019  | TheKAMAUU-CASSETTE: MíXD GRēēNS
"bamboo"
"flings"  | 2023  | LACUNA in The House of Mirrors
"antidote"
"Garden"  | 2024
“Danger”  | 2024
“Where There Are Dreams There Are Dragons”  | 2024
“WEIDAMINEH”  | 2024
“HOLY SPIRIT”  | 2024

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d Coleman, Libby (April 5, 2017). "Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello – It's Kamau". OZY. Archived from the original on March 14, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
2. ^ a b c d Thompson, Desire (March 23, 2017). "NEXT: KAMAU's Presence Is A Present To Creative Expression". Vibe. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
3. ^ Skelton, Eric (September 5, 2017). "KAMAU Previews New EP With Powerful Video for "GRā" Featuring Nkō Khélí". Pigeons & Planes. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
4. ^ a b Scott, Sydney (April 11, 2017). "New & Next: KAMAU Is An Artist Creating A Lane Of His Own". Essence. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
5. ^ na7ureblog, Author (June 9, 2016). "A Gorgeous Fortune". nature7blog. Retrieved April 19, 2024. `{{cite web}}`: `|first=` has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. ^ "KAMAUU.World". www.kamauu.world. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
7. ^ Hamm, Ken (July 8, 2016). "KAMAU, Lion Babe & No Wyld Are Doing This Refix 'Jusfayu'". SoulBounce. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
8. ^ Payano, Brandon (September 20, 2016). "Our Take: KAMAU'S Personal and Electrifying Fortune". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
9. ^ "video premiere: kamau, 'jambo'". i-D. May 24, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
10. ^ a b Ramirez, Erika (June 8, 2016). "Songs We Love: KAMAU, 'Jusfayu (Feat. No Wyld)'". NPR. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
11. ^ "All of the Music Played During 'Insecure' Season 1". Complex. July 31, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
12. ^ a b Thompson, Desire (January 24, 2017). "KAMAU Explores The Paradigms Of Blissful Love With Talibah Safiya On "MĭNT"". Vibe. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
13. ^ a b Thompson, Desire (August 23, 2019). "Premiere: Discover KAMAUU's Lyrical Gems In "bamboo" Visual". Vibe. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
14. ^ Ramirez, Erika (June 27, 2016). "KAMAU Recruits Lion Babe For 'Jusfayu' Remix: Exclusive Song Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
15. ^ Black, Adrienne (July 1, 2016). "Stream KAMAU's 'A Gorgeous Fortune' EP". Pigeons & Planes. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
16. ^ Akinlana, Sola (November 28, 2016). "N.Y.C. Artist KAMAU Sings About Rock Bottom's Silver Lining On "MINT"". The Fader. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
17. ^ Ellis, Stacy-Ann (September 18, 2017). "Close Your Eyes And Vibe To KAMAU's New Project, 'TheKAMAU-CASSETTE: ŭRTH GōLD'". Vibe. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
18. ^ "Black Sheep – Kota the Friend". Genius. February 20, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
19. ^ Buerger, Megan (March 6, 2018). "Topaz Jones – "Pleasure Pain Passion" (ft. KAMAU)". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
20. ^ Ndolo, Davies (March 13, 2018). "Brother KAMAU set to rock Nairobians at Thrift Social". The Star. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
21. ^ Moore, Jacob; Gardner, Alex (March 25, 2019). "11 Rising Artists Who Defy Genre". Pigeons & Planes. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
22. ^ Bishop, Aaron (May 9, 2019). "Premiere: Marques Martin Brings His Laid-Back Flow To "Dinner Date" With KAMAUU". Complex. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
23. ^ Stubblebine, Allison (June 13, 2019). "Stella Santana Wants You To 'Tell The Truth'". Nylon. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
24. ^ Garrison, Lucas (July 31, 2019). "TheKAMAUU-CASSETTE: MíXD GRēēNS – (KAMAUU)". Lyrical Lemonade. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
25. ^ Gueye, Awa (August 9, 2019). "KAMAUU IS BACK AND IN LOVE". AfroPunk. Retrieved September 24, 2019.

## External links

[edit]

* Official website

Authority control databases: Artists |

* MusicBrainz
* 2

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