Background The collective stems from the partnership between founders and Derek Debru and Arlen Dilsivian. Both moved to Kampala in 2010: Debru (b. 1981,
Burundi) was a
Belgian film teacher at the Kampala Film School of
Kampala University; Dilsivian (b. ) was a
Greco-Armenian ethnomusicologist. The two met through the film school by 2011, and began organizing community film screenings and afterparties. In 2013, the two began a club night called
Boutiq Electroniq at Kampala
nightclub Tilapia. Unlike mainstream Kampala parties, Boutiq platformed local artists and African
ethnic electronica such as
balani,
coupé-décalé,
kuduro,
soukous and
tarraxinha. although the two Nyege Nyege artists slated to perform, MCZO and Duke, were forced to cancel after customs agents denied them entry into the U.S. By 2019, Debru had founded
Afroludo Limited as a
holding company, to register Nyege Nyege as a trademark. The trademark was rejected by the
Uganda Registration Services Bureau on ground of morality, and the trademark was given to a
trademark troll. This led to a six-year litigation, for which the
High Court of Uganda ultimately decided in favor of Afroludo Ltd in February 2025. In 2023 and 2024, the Nyege Nyege collective launched the "Afropollination" residency exchange project and tour program with
Berlin-based , held between the Villa and the
Stubnitz. == Nyege Nyege Tapes ==