combines roots and soul with such old-school, retro-sounding verve, it's hard to believe he's still a rising star — let alone a 24-year-old. Kiwanuka is of Ugandan descent and grew up in Muswell Hill, London. His early music tastes favored and , and, though he'd always had a passion for music, Kiwanuka says he only began to imagine a guitar in his own hands after he realized that was black.
Since that fateful realization, Kiwanuka has grown tremendously as an artist. In his teens, he played in a few bands, was hired as a session guitarist by Tinie Tempah's producer, and began to play solo gigs in the evenings. He's released three EPs in the last year alone, including one that so impressed , she invited Kiwanuka to tour with her.
In January, Kiwanuka won first place in BBC's Sound of 2012 poll, at which point the hype became deafening. The full-length Home Again was released on March 12 and jumped immediately to No. 4 on the U.K. album charts. On this episode of World Cafe, Kiwanuka plays songs from the record, covers Hendrix and discusses his collaboration with ' .
This episode originally aired on April 26, 2012.
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