Kabeaushé

Kabeaushé is a radical and genre-defying pop artist whose work combines music, film, visual art, and performance into an immersive creative universe. Drawing influences from Nairobi, Berlin, baroque music, rock, hip-hop, cinema, and painting, he explores themes of beauty, pain, power, and identity through bold, emotionally charged pop.

Born Kabochi Gitau, he created Kabeaushé as a space to experiment freely with artistic expression. His second album, KABEAUSHÉ PRESENTS: IGGY SWAGGERING UNGRATEFUL INCESSANT LITTLE PEEEAAAAAAAA, revolves around Herr Iggy, the egotistical ruler of the fictional Doerf Kingdom. Through music and visuals, the album traces Iggy’s rise and fall, using the character to explore ambition, excess, arrogance, and collapse.

Inspired by classic cinema, particularly early German expressionist films and Barry Lyndon, Kabeaushé creates a theatrical world where grand orchestral elements, dramatic storytelling, and experimental pop coexist. His music balances spectacle and vulnerability, often using exaggerated vocals, striking contrasts, and a constant tension between chaos and catharsis.

Live performance is central to his practice. He approaches concerts as theatrical experiences driven by movement, spontaneity, and audience interaction. His songs explore themes such as paranoia, instability, self-destruction, and the fleeting nature of life, while his distinctive voice remains the emotional core of his work.

Raised in Kenya, Kabeaushé grew up surrounded by diverse musical traditions, from gospel and country to Lingala, Benga, R&B, and hip-hop. Since 2015, he has produced rap and electronic music, collaborating with the Nyege Nyege collective and releasing music through Hakuna Kulala. His debut album, Hold On To Deer Life, There's A Black Boy Behind You!, earned critical acclaim, and in 2024 he received the Polyton Music Prize and the VIA VUT Award.

Having performed at major festivals across Europe and Africa, Kabeaushé continues to develop a highly original artistic language. Despite its extravagance and constant experimentation, his work remains deeply human, exploring the complexities of ambition, vulnerability, and transformation.