Joshua Baraka
Born in Kampala in 2000, Joshua Baraka has made "Nana" a world passport: Ugandans are chaining HiPipo awards and carrying the new East African wave on European scenes.
Joshua Baraka was born on 13 December 2000 in Kawempe, Kampala, in a family where choral music plays a central role. In 2021 he published his first EP, "Baby Steps", before he broke through in 2023 with "Nana", the viral title that made him known throughout East Africa and beyond, and then with the album "Growing Pains".
Selected artist Spotify RADAR Africa in 2024, he has multiplied the collaborations of the continent: "Dalilah" and his cover with Simi and Qing Madi, "Alone" with Nkosazana Daughter in Amapiano colors, "Wrong Places" and "This Time" with producer JAE5. His writing, between Afrobeats, R&B and Soul, makes him the most prominent ambassador for the new Ugandan scene.
In November 2025, he was the great winner of the HiPipo Music Awards — Artist of the Year, Best Male Artist, Best East African Artist — and published the album "Juvie" and filled the Ndere Cultural Center in Kampala for his concert "Into the Braland", before continuing his tour of Brakaland.