It’s All Genge Growth As Jua Cali Drops ‘Utu Uzima’ Album

The King of Genge has dropped his fifth studio album ‘Utu Uzima’ which a classic blend of vintage and newskul sound. From writing, production and performance, one cannot fail to acknowledge that rapper Jua Cali has presented serious growth that matches the title of the project.

The title literally translates to growth or maturity and it’s justified in all the tracks. Jua has featured a number of newskul artists in this project but he has kept it fresh in all the collaborations and maintained his genge touch at the same time.

‘Vile Iko’ which features Crystal Kagehi Asige is classic. This track, dedicated to rapper’s daughter is a call on the girl child to put in work in whatever they do, especially in education to face the unpredictable future.

He chose to work with Senator Asige, a classical singer who killed the chorus and laced the entire song with amazing adlibs. The former Sol Generation signee was actually the perfect artist to collaborate with on this one.

Hon. Asige is currently serving as a nominated senator, representing Persons Living With Disabilities (PLWDs) under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) flagship.

Her position on top of her lyrical and vocal prowess makes her a great inspiration to girls across the African continent.

And not in any specific order, the album also features ‘Habibi’ produced by Tee Hits. Jua Cali brought out his lyrical and crazy rhyming ability by creatively giving shout outs to prominent Kenyan women from entertainment, sports, media, corporate and politics.

Have you listened to my New UTU UZIMA album? If not unangoja nini? Album ni ??? available in all Streaming platforms pic.twitter.com/pIMv8Ri2Y4

— JuaCali (@juacaliGenge) March 25, 2023

It is also important to note that most of the tracks in this album are produced by Tee Hits, something that nears the newfound chemistry between rapper Nas and producer Hit Boy.

‘Paradise’ for instance, which features singer Kaleche Africana is a good blend of oldskul sound with urban vibe. Kaleche was magical on the chorus and Jua_Cali approached the verses as a grown and collected King of the sub-genre.

‘Utu Uzima’ is paying homage to genge and JuaCali’s musical growth and all the tracks are representing the title because they all capture the rapper’s undeniable growth.

And JuaCali’s prolificity is just as impressive as the quality of his work. He was crowned the best male Kenyan artist in 2007 when he won Pearl of Africa Music Awards (PAM Awards) alongside other accolades including; Kisima Music Awards – Best Male Artist & Boomba Male (2007), 2007 Chaguo La Teeniez Awards (CHAT Awards) – Best Male & Celebrity of the Year and 2006 Kisima Music Awards – Boomba Male (2006).

The rapper has stayed on the listeners’ radar for long, churning out singles and albums but one can’t struggle to note that each album is arguably better than the one that came before.

Unlike most of his peers, Jua Cali has been collaborating with new cats in the game with a promise to drop an album. ‘Utu Uzima’ it is, and the album is promising to be one of 2023’s best musical projects.