The Tanzanian producer known simply as
Duke is one of the foremost figures of the ultra-frenetic style known as singeli. His 2019 debut album,
Uingizaji Hewa, consists of impossibly fast rhythmic loops, often above 200 beats per minute, spiked with cartoonish samples as well as breathless, dancehall-inflected rapping.
While much of the singeli scene centers around the Sisso collective, which includes producers
Jay Mitta and
Bamba Pana,
Duke is affiliated with the Pamoja Records studio.
Duke's productions are some of the fastest and most unhinged of the genre, although he has also produced tracks in the slower, more hip-hop-influenced variation of singeli, which achieved widespread popularity during the late 2010s.
Duke's debut full-length,
Uingizaji Hewa, was released by Uganda's Nyege Nyege Tapes, home of other acclaimed singeli releases, in 2019. The album featured guest appearances by MCZO, Don Tach, and Dogo Lizzi, as well as several blistering instrumentals. ~ Paul Simpson