Yeboyah performed in Ruisrock on Friday and attended his mother’s funeral on Saturday – At the end of the summer, grief hit me in the face

Raakel Kuukka, the mother of rapper Yeboyah aka Rebekka Kuukka, passed away in June of last year.

Yeboyah performed in 2022 at the Weekend festival. Antti Nikkanen

Rapper Yeboyah aka Rebekka Kuukka, 26, performed at the Sideways festival held in Helsinki last year. After his own bet, Kuukka jumped into a taxi and went back to the hospital, where he had spent the previous night by his mother’s side.

Kuukka’s mother Raakel Kuukka, known as a visual artist, was diagnosed with cancer three years ago. Last year, his condition suddenly collapsed. The day after the Sideways festival, Kuukka’s mother slept off.

It was mid-June at the time of the events. After the corona pandemic, Kuukka had all the summer weekends full of gigs, which he did in the midst of grief work.

– The whole summer was really hard when my dear mother had died in the middle of June. It was the first festival summer of its own, where all weekends were full of gigs.

– I have to admit that it was a tough summer. For example, on Friday I played a gig in Ruisrock and on Saturday I was at my mother’s funeral, says Kuukka.

Kuukka survived the gig summer with the help of a good team. He had a choir, dancers, stuntman, DJ and tour manager on tour to help him through a difficult situation. He did not have to support the issue alone, but received support from loving people.

Many entrepreneurs and performers in the event industry have struggled with financial difficulties and canceled job offers throughout the corona period. Kuukka says that his corona years went well in terms of his career despite everything. Actually, the corona period gave him more opportunities to spend free time with loved ones, such as his mother, and friends.

New music

Kuukka has not released music for 1.5 years. The long pause was not intentional. His to be published in two weeks Yebo& EP was supposed to be published already last summer, but with the death of my mother it was decided to postpone it. The rapper had to prioritize his own coping skills, stop to deal with the loss of his mother and take a breath.

The mourning work is still in progress.

– This is something that I will definitely be dealing with for a long time to come. I don’t feel like I’ve gotten over it. That sadness will probably unfold in layers and will be present for the rest of his life, Kuukka says.

The finished album has been waiting for the light of day in the desk drawer for almost a year, because it was already finished last summer, but it’s time to release it.

The album’s first single 10X feat. Slan will be released on March 24, 2022. The entire new album is inspired by collaboration, playfulness, creative freedom and fun. Every song on the EP has a guest. The concept has been brewing in the rapper’s mind for many years.

Kuukka is known as a rapper who has previously taken a stand on social issues and grievances in the music industry. This EP will follow the same line.

– Art is not separate from this society in any way. Of course, when I’m making music in this scene as a person who looks like I am, it’s already taking a stand. That’s why I can’t take it off, Kuukka says.

The music video of the first single release is the artist’s first direction.

– I grew up with music videos and MTV Music Television was very present in my childhood and youth. The love for music videos has only grown over the years. I hope that I will be able to work on videos more in the future. It would be fun to direct the video to another artist, says the rapper.

Kuukka laughs that today his music is even used in university study material, international studies and graduation essays. It amuses him because Kuukka is a high school student by education, and the academic world is by no means close to him. In the upcoming album, he will step closer to what he himself is like and what kind of community he himself comes from. On the new album, Kuukka will present more sides that his audience has not heard yet.

Watch the song 10X feat. Slan music video below!

Yeboyah’s most famous songs include, among others Alive and Broflake. He has, among other things, been a guest on the Gasellie album and has twice been nominated at the Emma gala.

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