Two Kenyan musicians have been credited in American rapper Kanye West's new album titled Ye.
Legendary musician Ayub Ogada and his one-time bandmate James Mbarack Achieng have been listed as co-composers of Yikes, the second song of the rapper's eighth album.
Ayub, however, did not seem to recall exactly what input he had in Kanye West's song.
Speaking to Nation, Ayub noted: "I've done so many projects. I cannot remember everything. I cannot remember at what moment in time I did that job."
[caption caption="File image of Ayub Ogada"]
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According to Ayub's remarks, it is implied that Kanye could have only given Ayub and his colleague credit for borrowing aspects from one of his more than 150 songs.
"People often use my music to do their own projects," stated Ayub.
Additionally, Ayub who has an international recognition mentioned that he has not been in contact with Mr James Ochieng, "for nearly 10 years."
Conclusively, it can be stated that the two may not have actively participated in composing Yikes, a song that makes reference to the recent social topics such as the 2017 "Me Too" campaign.
In the album, Kanye speaks in detail on fatherhood, his struggle with opioid addiction and even touches on Pusha T's beef with Drake.
According to an American music review site, Genius.com : "Kanye takes listeners through his recent opioid addiction, which caused him to have suicidal thoughts and bipolar feelings."
Another online publication, Spin.com exclaimed: "It includes additional writing credits for Kenyan musician Ayub Ogada and collaborator James Mbarack Achieng, possibly related to a sample."
It is reported that in the past, American musicians have been sued for incorporating beats from Africans into their songs without their consent, and a listing of the two might have been a move towards avoiding future lawsuits.
Ayub has been celebrated for his unique artistry in music that includes animal sounds and voices of children playing in the background.
His most famous song Koth Biro (Luo for the rain is coming) was played at the Rio 2016 Olympics as Kenya’s athletics legend Kipchoge Keino received the Olympic Laurel award.
In the album details, Yikes is listed as having been produced by Kanye and Mike Dean.
Here is Ayub's Kothbiro song:
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