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Meet the deaf rapper, Lal Daggy, who is quickly rising in the music industry

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Rapper Lal Daggy
 Rapper Lal Daggy

Lal Daggy proves that music is truly a world within itself in a language we all understand. Being deaf does not lock him out of this world nor stop him from speaking the language. He easily connects with his audience with his face, hands, arms and body as he did with the performance of his single Story ya Machampions.

It was a show of a kind at the Sarakasi Dome during the monthly Hip-Hop Hook-Up concert. Without uttering a single word, Lal ‘speaks’ to his audience the best way he can. An audio is played in the background, an audio that is an interpretation of Lal’s sign language sang by genge artiste Nonini. Before the start of his performance, Lal’s manager Jared Getanda instructs him to start off signing when the music starts.

Story ya Machampions narrates the life of the 24-year-old, deaf rapper. Lal turned deaf at a very tender age after an unknown illness. All he knows is that his mother left when he was two years old and that affected him a lot growing up then suddenly at five years of age, he lost his hearing. It was his father, whom he calls his guardian angel, who has stood by him all this time. The story continues in our interview after his show ends. We find a sales lady, Dorice Asaala who agrees to be an interpreter.

“I grew up in Kisumu and came to Nairobi three years ago. I started recording in River Road for a while until I was introduced to Nonini. He is passionate about people with disability and that is why he decided to work with me,” Lal believes.

During our interview, Lal and Dorice opt to stand; it helps with their communication, we learn. We pose a question to Dorice who signs it to Lal who responds in sign language as Dorice interprets the answer. But this is the least of his problems. What bothers him is the lack of special attention for people with hearing disabilities in studios.

He believes song recording would be easier for him if there were hearing support machines that would enable him hear the beat made. Rehearsals are a challenge since he cannot hear the beat and relies on his heart and stomach to feel the beat and make a track out of it. “There are no studio engineers who are trained in sign language and how to deal with people with disabilities. There is no special attention for people of our kind. My songs are also not getting airplay and that means I don’t earn royalties,” he says.

“People also want somebody who has voice as that is easier for them to understand. It is always a challenge to find somebody who will accept to interpret. I am thankful though for the support I have received from the fans. They tell me they are inspired by my story,” he sentiments.

Lal, real name Douglas Munyendo, hopes to collaborate with international stars 50 Cent and Wiz Khalifa. Until then, he has plans to work on a song with either Nameless or Rabbit who will act as interpreters. How does it feel signing to an audience which does not understand the language?

“My hope is to sing to someone who understands sign language because it can be frustrating to perform to an audience which does not,” he says.

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