Only

This is a song I wrote for the project during the Covid-19 lockdown the Kenyan government imposed in March 2021, and it's my girlfriend Joan's favourite for obvious reasons. It's a conceptual sequel to "Black Queen" from Not a Rapper, in that I was exploring the feeling of meeting this woman for the first time and later getting into a relationship with her, whereas here I've become much fonder of her through our highs and lows together.

I hadn't really come up with the premise for the song until I heard the beat on KDaGreat's SoundCloud, and as I did the feelings and ideas just started coming naturally. I wrote the first verse and previewed it on my Instagram that same night in April 2021. This song is also interesting in that being of Rwandese origin, I was able to collaborate with a producer from Burundi, who himself collaborated with a fellow Burundian artist to make the beat. Aside from the song being a tribute to my girlfriend, I see it as a testament to the creative talent coming out of the heart of Africa.

After I was done recording the song, I listened to it countless times feeling like it was missing something. I then decided to get someone in to add some background vocals just vibing throughout, and with that in mind I remembered a singer called Zippie that Joan had introduced me to not long before. I reached out to her and when she eventually came in, AndyBolo and I had her do three different takes that we could play around with. She did an amazing job and I'm glad I decided to get her involved; the song now had some feminine energy and some extra sauce on top of the main course.