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Kamauu
Birth nameKamau Mbonisi Kwame Agyeman
Born (1991-02-02) February 2, 1991 (age 33)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
OriginBrooklyn, New York City
Genres
Occupations
Years active2014–present
Labels
Websitewww.kamauu.world

Kamau Mbonisi Kwame Agyeman, known professionally by his stage name, Kamauu (stylized as KAMAUU, and formerly KAMAU and brother KAMAU), is an American singer and rapper. He released his debut EP, A Gorgeous Fortune, in 2016.

Early life and education

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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] 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]

Career

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In February 2014, Kamauu released a mixtape called TheKAMAU-CASSETTE.[2] In 2015,[6] Agyeman received recognition for his song covers including those for Outkast's "Hey Ya!" and Adele's "Hometown Glory".[7] 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.[8] Another single (and its accompanying video) from that collection called "Jusfayu" (featuring No Wyld) was released in June 2016.[9] It would go on to be featured on an episode of the HBO series, Insecure[10] and on the soundtrack for FIFA 17.[11] It has also accumulated over 10 million streams on various platforms as of August 2019.[12] A remix of the song by Lion Babe was released later in June 2016.[13] A Gorgeous Fortune itself came out in July 2016 on Invisible Firm and was followed by a Kamauu summer tour with Lion Babe.[9][14]

In 2016, Kamauu helped co-found "DoloBhana", a multi-disciplinary artist collective that was based in an apartment in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.[2] 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.[15] The music video for that song came out in January 2017.[11] It would serve as the lead single for his second mixtape entitled TheKAMAU-CASSETTE: ŭRTH GōLD which was released in September 2017.[16] In February 2018, he was featured on the Kota the Friend song, "Black Sheep".[17] In March of that year, Kamauu was featured on the Topaz Jones track, "Pleasure Pain Passion".[18] Later that month, he played a show in Nairobi, Kenya at the Thrift Social installation.[19]

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.[20] In May 2019 he began using his current stage name, Kamauu, and was featured on the Marques Martin song, "Dinner Date".[21] The following month he was featured on the Stella Santana song, "Tell The Truth".[22] In July of that year, he released a four-track EP entitled TheKAMAUU-CASSETTE: MíXD GRēēNS.[23] Music videos for two of the EP's songs ("clover" and "bamboo") were released the following month.[12][24] In 2020, Kamauu released many singles.

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 release "Where There Are Dreams There Are Dragons, Vol. 1", an instrumental Afrobeats-inspired album released by Upside Records. They followed up on this album with a single in March 2024.[citation needed]

Earlier in the year, Kamauu released two other singles, named "Danger" and "Garden", in January and February, respectively. A dance mix of the latter song was released in June, along with a fourth single of the year, "WEIDAMINEH", with TrapCellist and Siimbiie Lakew.[citation needed]

Discography

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Mixtapes

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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

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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

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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

References

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  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. ^ Hamm, Ken (July 8, 2016). "KAMAU, Lion Babe & No Wyld Are Doing This Refix 'Jusfayu'". SoulBounce. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  7. ^ Payano, Brandon (September 20, 2016). "Our Take: KAMAU'S Personal and Electrifying Fortune". Atwood Magazine. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  8. ^ "video premiere: kamau, 'jambo'". i-D. May 24, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  9. ^ a b Ramirez, Erika (June 8, 2016). "Songs We Love: KAMAU, 'Jusfayu (Feat. No Wyld)'". NPR. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "All of the Music Played During 'Insecure' Season 1". Complex. July 31, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  11. ^ a b Thompson, Desire (January 24, 2017). "KAMAU Explores The Paradigms Of Blissful Love With Talibah Safiya On "MĭNT"". Vibe. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Thompson, Desire (August 23, 2019). "Premiere: Discover KAMAUU's Lyrical Gems In "bamboo" Visual". Vibe. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  13. ^ Ramirez, Erika (June 27, 2016). "KAMAU Recruits Lion Babe For 'Jusfayu' Remix: Exclusive Song Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  14. ^ Black, Adrienne (July 1, 2016). "Stream KAMAU's 'A Gorgeous Fortune' EP". Pigeons & Planes. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  15. ^ 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.
  16. ^ 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.
  17. ^ "Black Sheep – Kota the Friend". Genius. February 20, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  18. ^ Buerger, Megan (March 6, 2018). "Topaz Jones – "Pleasure Pain Passion" (ft. KAMAU)". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  19. ^ Ndolo, Davies (March 13, 2018). "Brother KAMAU set to rock Nairobians at Thrift Social". The Star. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  20. ^ Moore, Jacob; Gardner, Alex (March 25, 2019). "11 Rising Artists Who Defy Genre". Pigeons & Planes. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  21. ^ Bishop, Aaron (May 9, 2019). "Premiere: Marques Martin Brings His Laid-Back Flow To "Dinner Date" With KAMAUU". Complex. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  22. ^ Stubblebine, Allison (June 13, 2019). "Stella Santana Wants You To 'Tell The Truth'". Nylon. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  23. ^ Garrison, Lucas (July 31, 2019). "TheKAMAUU-CASSETTE: MíXD GRēēNS – (KAMAUU)". Lyrical Lemonade. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  24. ^ Gueye, Awa (August 9, 2019). "Kamauu Is Back and In Love". AfroPunk. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
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