The 'A' game romance of Abbas Kubaff and new flame Anna

For the first time since they started dating,Abass brings Anna to the fore with Pulse's Kevin Oguoko just to set the record straight

Pulse: Congratulations on the baby. When are you due?

Anna: I am in my last trimester and that means I am due in December this year or early January next year.

Pulse: We only heard about you a few weeks ago. Word has it that you rap as well. Tell us a bit about yourself...

Anna: I am 25 years old and I was born in the UK. I studied African Linguistics and Kiswahili in college and had to come to the country to learn more on my major.

Pulse: How did the two of you meet?

Anna: I did my internship at a radio station in Germany doing Friday night interviews. I got a chance to interview Abbas when he was in the country during the 2012 International Symposium on African music, which he frequents. We pretty much hit it off from there.

Pulse: You also rap?

Anna: Yes. I have featured on his (Abbas) just released Ghettoholik album on the track Mtotoise, which we will do a video to once I have delivered and gotten back into shape. I actually got into rap music by chance.

Pulse: What do you mean...by chance?

Anna: I was at Ulopa Ngoma’s studio and they were playing Toklezea. I rhymed along to every word of the song and everyone turned and looked at me in surprise. They couldn’t believe I could rap much less in a ‘hood, sheng accent. That’s when it hit me that I could actually do this.

Pulse: Speaking of the Ghettoholik album, there was a bitter exchange on Twitter between you, Abbas and one Buddha Blaze over him (Buddha Blaze) eating up your stage time during last weekend’s Sarakasi hip-hop workshop. What was that all about Abbas?

Abass: I was meant to close the performances but I was unceremoniously cut off by the Sarakasi DJs. Blaze took to the stage and he ended up taking a long time and other people who were also meant to perform like L-Ness never got the chance to perform. I later learnt that this was a norm and many artistes have complained of the Sarakasi DJs’ behaviour.

Pulse: So what you are saying is that this was not Blaze’s fault. However, something else also came up on one of your tweets as well. Something about hip-hop politics and Blaze handing over a copy of the Hip-hop Declaration of Peace to Smallz that was drafted by Krs-One in 2001.

Abass: I wish they wouldn’t bring politics into hip-hop. Hip-hop is something that we live and do every day. There shouldn’t be some sort of Parliament to tell us or colonise us on how we should live our lives.

Anna: The declaration by Krs-One was handed out 14 years ago in New York. You also have to ask yourself how relevant it is now in Nairobi. A lot has happened since then.

Pulse: Abass, you have always been associated with dating Caucasian chics, with your ex-wife being European as well, since back in the day. Being a Kenyan rapper from Kariobangi South and all, what do you have to comment about this?

Abass: (Laughs) I travel a lot. The probability of me finding a Kenyan chic in Germany where I frequent is minimal. Then again it’s just people reading so much into it. Back in the day, when I used to date black chics no one cared, no one wrote about it.

Pulse: How do your parents feel about you two dating and having a baby together?

Anna: My mom is ecstatic. She loves him. They talk and tweet each other all the time. She was in Kenya between July and August and they got to hang out and get to know each other.

Pulse: So your divorce from ex-wife Baby G is completely done?

Abass: Yes it is, I mean it has been for years my man.

Pulse: What about your relationship with Chiwawa?

Abass: We are cool, we are boys. We have collaborated on a track on the Ghettoholik album as well. Beefing and grudges are for the females. Men fight, heckle and some times throw diss songs at each other but at the end of the day we will come back and hug that beef out.

Pulse: So you forgave him for sleeping with your ex-wife, Baby G, I mean according to allegations?

Abass: Contrary to popular belief he never did. It just happens that the same time I was having problems with my wife, I had a falling out with Chiwawa and people tied the two together. Baby G had a crazy history and all but I can say for sure they didn’t do anything of the sort during our relationship.

Pulse: So what was the real reason for the fallout?

Abass: It was about money. A promoter was to pay us both some money but ended up not delivering and since I was the one organising the deal I had to pay Chiwawa with my own money. The next thing you know some unkind words were spoken, media was all in on it and we were both in the booth releasing diss tracks.

Pulse: Word has it that there was actually never a beef and that it was in actual sense, a staged publicity stunt.

Abass: If it was staged, I don’t see what we could have gained out of it. It was real.

Pulse: What about you and Bamboo. You two seem to have a love-hate relationship.

Abass: I truly can’t say K-South (Abbas and Bamboo’s old hip-hop unit) will forever be or that we will be making a comeback soon or all that whatnot. I haven’t seen him in a while. I sincerely do not know what his plans are.

Pulse: The last time we met, you were yet to hear any of Octopizzo’s songs. Is that still the case?

Abass: I heard one the other day, I don’t remember the name though. It came on when we were in the parking lot listening to random music and someone made a not-so-nice comment about the song.