Issa4FR — AKA Far Soilel Yellowman, 30 Cha, Mgosi Mbago, Duckman, Respect Villager, Mr. Discipline, all blessings in unique rich names — Chant Rap from Kenya to Canada.

Mwalimu Issa Hussein was born in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya, from Tanzanian and Somalian parents. He began singing Kenyan popular music at age 12, when he began performing at school, ceremonies and community events.

In his earliest days of performing, Issa realized music as a vital means of maintaining culture and custom, as well as a natural ‘teacher’ for youth. Original works began, inspired by this understanding.

Equally immersed in popular and spiritual music, Issa has developed a style combining hip-hop, call to prayer, R&B, and African pop. His singing embraces the microtonal melodies he absorbed growing up, weaving with chant and rap for a completely contemporary sound steeped in deep cultural history.

While fleeing war in Somalia, Issa and his family lived in refugee camps — first in Somalia and eventually Kenya, where he received his schooling. He settled in Canada as a refugee in 2020, and shortly thereafter became a permanent resident.

Delivering his works in English, Swahili and Arabic, Issa stands in Canada and addresses the world.

Issa calls Kingston, Ontario his home, and has taken up recording his songs on Wolfe Island with Hugh Christopher Brown / Wolfe Island Records. Brown’s multi-genre spanning music career, plus his history of mentoring young aritsts (Including the ground breaking Pros and Cons Prison Arts Program) attracted Issa to the island, where the two are developing Issa’s original works.