Julio Mwansa Nkowane is an American MC also known as Rootwords. Raised in Europe by his Zambian parents during the golden age of Hip Hop, Rootwords started his career in 2000. With his partner in rhyme Larynx, he formed A-stout, a Hip Hop group based in London. A-stout and Rootwords featured on “The Chocolate Lover” EP that was distributed by Landspeed Records and Fat Beats in the United States in 2002.

His MC skills were nurtured in the unlikely abode of an English boarding school, where he part...

Julio Mwansa Nkowane is an American MC also known as Rootwords. Raised in Europe by his Zambian parents during the golden age of Hip Hop, Rootwords started his career in 2000. With his partner in rhyme Larynx, he formed A-stout, a Hip Hop group based in London. A-stout and Rootwords featured on “The Chocolate Lover” EP that was distributed by Landspeed Records and Fat Beats in the United States in 2002.

His MC skills were nurtured in the unlikely abode of an English boarding school, where he participated in many freestyle and open mic sessions. Over the past 12 years, his talent evolved in Switzerland, where he has been recognized on many mixtapes, performed in many local events and had the opportunity to freestyle with Common at the Montreux Jazz Festival. He spent 3 years in Australia studying. Whilst there, he played in bars and clubs on the Gold Coast as well as in Adelaide, where he performed at Splendor in the Grass Festival in 2007. He released a song (“My Destiny”) on Obese Records, the most respected indie label in Australia.

Rootwords has evolved to become the artist he is today through collaborating with many producers around the globe. He has been broadcasted on several major radios such as Couleur3 (CH), France Inter (FR), One FM (CH), Choice FM (UK) and many local radios.

Currently, he is working on new tracks for his first solo album. This project will be produced and released by the Swiss indie label Kinyama Sounds. Rootwords will also perform with his live band The Block Notes during this year. Stay tuned !