Icy Lando – ‘Pull Up’

Icy Lando, real name Victor Buyuka, is a 26 year old rapper, singer, and producer, from Nairobi, Kenya. Icy Lando has recently released his debut single, ‘Pull Up’.

Icy Lando grew up in humble circumstances with his three siblings, in Kayole, thirty minutes outside of Nairobi, one of the most dangerous neighbourhoods for crime in Kenya. He developed his love for music through his older sister, who was a singer in an RnB group. Later, at the age of 15 while attending high school, he joined the school choir, and became an active member of the annual Kenyan Music Festivals. These are a competition for school choirs, which takes place every summer in Kenya, and getting every school in the country involved. The competition is an effort to encourage the youth of Kenya to come together in spirit of true Kenyan culture. It was there that Victor, as lead vocalist in his school’s choir, caught the eye of the directors of the Kenyan Boys Choir. The Kenyan Boys Choir are the country’s greatest ever musical group, and gained international fame when they were invited to perform at the inauguration of US President Barack Obama, in Washington DC, USA, in 2009.

The Choir was then offered a major recording deal with Universal Music Group UK that same year, and released their only album under Universal, ‘The Spirit Of Africa’. The record landed them in on the Number 21 spot on the UK Official Album Charts.

Icy Lando was proudly a member of the Kenyan Boys Choir at this time, and during his four year tenure in the group he performed and recorded music with the likes of Nelly Furtado, Demi Lovato, and Selena Gomez, among many others.

Now however, he’s branched out on his own, with his debut single, ‘Pull Up’. The song is a departure from his choir days, having decided to pursue his solo career in Hip Hop and RnB, after meeting UK producers, N-Geezy, and Fliptunes Music.

Icy Lando’s unique sound feels like a blend of London Grime and Old Skool hip hop. There’s a really strong bass undercurrent pulling his vocals together with the instrumentals. The rap itself captures his vocal abilities, and the fast pace of his flow keeps pace with a very catchy rhythm.

You can stream ‘Pull Up’ on SoundCloud. Find Icy Lando online on his official website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

About the author

Lisa has been writing for over 20 years, starting as the entertainment editor on her university newspaper. Since then she's written for Popwrapped, Maximum Pop, Celebmix, and ListenOnRepeat.

Lisa loves all good music, with particular fondness for Jedward and David Bowie. She's interviewed Edward Grimes (Jedward), Kevin Godley, Trevor Horn, Paul Young, Peter Cox (Go West), Brendan B Brown (Wheatus), Bruce Foxton (The Jam), among many many more. Lisa is also available for freelance writing - please email lisa@essentiallypop.com