state

State of Bongo Hip Hop/ Hali ya Bongo Flava
Kwa wasanii ijuwe sheria ya Haki miliki - Bonyenza hapa kusoma zaidi =================================================================== July 20, 2005 - Bongo Flava (Tanzanian rap music) written by Alex Perullo Assistant Professor of African Studies and Ethnomusicology Bryant University In May 1998, I walked down a quiet street in Tanga, a small coastal town in Tanzania. As I approached a general store, I heard rap music blaring from a speaker that hung precariously above the store’s curtained doorway. At the time, American rap music was prolific in Tanzania—on the radio and on cassette tapes—and I was not surprised to hear the sounds of rap even in this quiet, remote town. As I moved closer to the store, however, the music I heard was different than the American variety: the beats were more laidback and instrumentally more simple than the multilayered sounds coming from the States. Most striking was the rapper’s voice—tough, strong, quick—and using Kiswahili rather than English to express his ideas. This was not American rap; this was Tanzanian bongo flava. After the song ended, I entered the shop and asked the storeowner about the music. He slid a cassette across of the counter by a Dar es Salaam based rapper. The album, Niite Mr. II, had just been released and was selling at a record pace. It was selling so quickly in fact that the enterprising storeowner had inflated the price from a typical Tsh 1000 ($1.50 at the time) to Tsh 1400 ($2.20). Grumbling at the price inflation (none of which would reach artist), I bought the cassette and returned home to listen to the brilliant lyricism of Tanzania’s first national success: Mr. II. Since hearing Mr. II in 1998, I have spent considerable time living in urban areas of Tanzania studying the country’s popular music scene (including rap), conducting numerous interviews with Tanzania’s hip hop community, and publishing a number of articles and book chapters on bongo flava. My interest in the music stems from the popularity of rap in Tanzania and the success of the country’s rappers in creating an indigenous Tanzanian hip hop phenomenon. While many world music enthusiasts criticize Africans interest in hip hop music, rap music provides Tanzanians a chance to voice their opinions and ideas in ways they had never down before. Rap is a voice for youth ideologies, concerns, and worldviews. Currently, no other medium is as successful in promoting Tanzanian youth culture as rap music. Rap music in Tanzania actually has a long history. In 1984, Dar es Salaam youth saw their first images of breakdancing on videocassettes and, within a period of a year, most of the dance community had abandoned early styles, such as the robot, for the new American phenomenon. American videos, such as Wild Styles, Breakin’, and Breakin’ 2, Electric Boogaloo, were the first visual elements of this American cultural form to appear in Dar es Salaam during the early 1980s. Breakdancing films were shown publicly, such as at the Saba Saba festival in 1984. Since few families in Tanzania had VCRs at this time, the breakdancing trend initially centered on middle and upper class youth. These youth, who mainly lived in the Upanga, Oyster Bay, and City Centre areas of Dar es Salaam, borrowed and traded videos with one another. While breakdancing was the first dominant element of hip hop culture to appear in Dar es Salaam during the mid 1980s, a handful of youth did rap. These mostly elite youth tended to be well educated and have connections with people abroad that allowed them access to music from the United States. The two most revered names of this small group of early rappers was Conway Francis and Fresh X. Francis rapped complete songs of American hip hop, dressed in American-style rap clothing, and used American vernacular in his speech. Though many people commented that they could not understand his lyrics when he rapped, Francis was well connected in the local music scene. He had access to videos, magazines, and records. And, he also was friendly with many of the local deejays, who would pass him the microphone during dance events so that he could rap. It was not until the early 1990s, however, that rap music moved beyond pockets of avid fans to a popular movement in urban areas of Tanzania. Two events, the 1991 release of Swahili Rap by Saleh Ajabry and the 1992 rap competition Yo! Rap Bonanza, created the most significant changes to the genre’s popularity. On Swahili Rap, Ajabry rapped many songs in Kiswahili, a significant turning point in the localization of the music in Tanzania, and the rap competition promoted a broad range of youth ideas in a single club setting. By the late 1990s, a considerable number of artists, such as Mr. II, Balozi Dola, Professor Jay, Rhymson, and KR (from the group GWM), recorded popular singles and albums that further promoted a Tanzanian rap music in eastern Africa. These artists, and hundreds that followed, reshaped the American sounding music they heard into something more lyrically pertinent to their lives. Although many of the sounds and beats draw inspiration from American rap, lyrical content is heavily localized in Tanzanian culture. I continue to research Tanzanian popular culture, including rap music, returning as often as possible to catch up on the rapidly changing music scene. As with any form of popular culture, bongo flava continues to evolve, taking on new sounds, new ideas, and new meanings with each passing year. These changes allow us to learn a great deal about youth culture in that country, and give us insight into the ways youth express their ideas, concerns, and beliefs. Hopefully, we will continue to see the music thrive in Tanzania, as artists learn new ways to make the music reflect their concerns and worldviews. And, of course, hopefully we will continue to enjoy the sounds of rap music blaring from radios, clubs, and stores throughout the country. ================================================================== Matukio ya Tanzania Music Awards 2004 Tuzo kwa waimbaji bora - Kilimanjo Tanzania Music Award hatimaye zime fanyika August 6, 2004 iliwadia na wanamuziki kupatiwa tuzo hizo kwa mujibu kura walizopigiwa na wapenzi wa muziki. Utoaji wa Tuzo hizo zilizofanyika kwenye viwanja vya Karimjeee zilihudhuriwa na watanzania wengi wakiongozwa na Meya wa jiji la Dar es salaam, Mzee Skykes huku wakishuhudia Wasanii wengine walioshinda tuzo hizo ni: Ray C (Mwimbaji Bora wa kike) - Best Female vocalist Banana Zoro (Mwimbaji wa kiume)- Best R N B Male vocalist Lady Jay Dee (Albam bora ya RnB - Binti) - Best R N B album "BINTI" Prof J (Albam Bora ya HipHop- Mapinduzi Halisi) Hip Hop album of the year Mwanafalsafa(Wimbo Bora wa Hiphop-Alikufa kwa Ngoma)Best HipHop song Pfunk - Bongo Records (Mtayarishaji Bora wa Nyimbo) Producer of the Year 2004 2eyes Production (Mtayarishaji Bora wa Video) Best video producers Joseph Chameleon (Albam Bora ya Nje - Bei Kali ) Best international album *TAARIFA: SUGU IS 2 BE BACK ON THE MIC!* To read story in English click here Kwa marafiki zangu, mashabiki wangu na wapenzi wengine wa muziki nyumbani tanzania na sehemu nyingine ulimwenguni ambako muziki wetu unasikika,natumaini wengi kama si wote tu wazima na tunaendelea vizuri na mihangaiko yetu ya kila siku . . . (bonyenza hapa kuendelea kusoma) *Mashabiki wanasemaje?soma baruwa pepe za mashabiki wa Sugu na wanachosema kuhusu yeye kurudi kwenye fani bonyenza hapa In the press release Sugu breaks his silence and says there is a big possibility of him returning to the music scene which he and people love and a the scene in which he has played a big and pivotal role as he help build hip hop in Tanzania. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Bongo flavor and the most influential hip hop artist of our genre. He took hip hop to a wider audience . . . (click here to read more) Bongo Labour Day Party in USA. "Balozi Dola nimefanya performance katika mkusanyiko ya wa Tanzania wote wanoishi Marekani siku ya tarehe 30 August 2003 ndani ya Washington D.C, USA. Party hiyo ilikwenda kwa jina 'Bongo Labour Day party' (Labour Day - ni sikuku ya wafanyakazi Marekani) Ilifanyika katita Club kubwa sana 'mjini DC 'Capitol city pavilion' kulikuwa na wa Tanzania kama 600 usiku huowalikuwepo . . .(bonyeza hapa kuendelea kusoma) In 2001, Balozi Dola while in Tanzania assisted a group of eight young teenagers write a song About the Tanzania Participatory Poverty Assessment Process Click the above link to read more and also hear the song "HaliDuni*" as an mp3 file.

In May 1998, I walked down a quiet street in Tanga, a small coastal town in Tanzania. As I approached a general store, I heard rap music blaring from a speaker that hung precariously above the store’s curtained doorway. At the time, American rap music was prolific in Tanzania—on the radio and on cassette tapes—and I was not surprised to hear the sounds of rap even in this quiet, remote town. As I moved closer to the store, however, the music I heard was different than the American variety: the beats were more laidback and instrumentally more simple than the multilayered sounds coming from the States. Most striking was the rapper’s voice—tough, strong, quick—and using Kiswahili rather than English to express his ideas. This was not American rap; this was Tanzanian bongo flava.

After the song ended, I entered the shop and asked the storeowner about the music. He slid a cassette across of the counter by a Dar es Salaam based rapper. The album, Niite Mr. II, had just been released and was selling at a record pace. It was selling so quickly in fact that the enterprising storeowner had inflated the price from a typical Tsh 1000 ($1.50 at the time) to Tsh 1400 ($2.20). Grumbling at the price inflation (none of which would reach artist), I bought the cassette and returned home to listen to the brilliant lyricism of Tanzania’s first national success: Mr. II.

Since hearing Mr. II in 1998, I have spent considerable time living in urban areas of Tanzania studying the country’s popular music scene (including rap), conducting numerous interviews with Tanzania’s hip hop community, and publishing a number of articles and book chapters on bongo flava. My interest in the music stems from the popularity of rap in Tanzania and the success of the country’s rappers in creating an indigenous Tanzanian hip hop phenomenon. While many world music enthusiasts criticize Africans interest in hip hop music, rap music provides Tanzanians a chance to voice their opinions and ideas in ways they had never down before. Rap is a voice for youth ideologies, concerns, and worldviews. Currently, no other medium is as successful in promoting Tanzanian youth culture as rap music.

Rap music in Tanzania actually has a long history. In 1984, Dar es Salaam youth saw their first images of breakdancing on videocassettes and, within a period of a year, most of the dance community had abandoned early styles, such as the robot, for the new American phenomenon. American videos, such as Wild Styles, Breakin’, and Breakin’ 2, Electric Boogaloo, were the first visual elements of this American cultural form to appear in Dar es Salaam during the early 1980s. Breakdancing films were shown publicly, such as at the Saba Saba festival in 1984. Since few families in Tanzania had VCRs at this time, the breakdancing trend initially centered on middle and upper class youth. These youth, who mainly lived in the Upanga, Oyster Bay, and City Centre areas of Dar es Salaam, borrowed and traded videos with one another.

While breakdancing was the first dominant element of hip hop culture to appear in Dar es Salaam during the mid 1980s, a handful of youth did rap. These mostly elite youth tended to be well educated and have connections with people abroad that allowed them access to music from the United States. The two most revered names of this small group of early rappers was Conway Francis and Fresh X. Francis rapped complete songs of American hip hop, dressed in American-style rap clothing, and used American vernacular in his speech. Though many people commented that they could not understand his lyrics when he rapped, Francis was well connected in the local music scene. He had access to videos, magazines, and records. And, he also was friendly with many of the local deejays, who would pass him the microphone during dance events so that he could rap.

It was not until the early 1990s, however, that rap music moved beyond pockets of avid fans to a popular movement in urban areas of Tanzania. Two events, the 1991 release of Swahili Rap by Saleh Ajabry and the 1992 rap competition Yo! Rap Bonanza, created the most significant changes to the genre’s popularity. On Swahili Rap, Ajabry rapped many songs in Kiswahili, a significant turning point in the localization of the music in Tanzania, and the rap competition promoted a broad range of youth ideas in a single club setting. By the late 1990s, a considerable number of artists, such as Mr. II, Balozi Dola, Professor Jay, Rhymson, and KR (from the group GWM), recorded popular singles and albums that further promoted a Tanzanian rap music in eastern Africa. These artists, and hundreds that followed, reshaped the American sounding music they heard into something more lyrically pertinent to their lives. Although many of the sounds and beats draw inspiration from American rap, lyrical content is heavily localized in Tanzanian culture.

I continue to research Tanzanian popular culture, including rap music, returning as often as possible to catch up on the rapidly changing music scene. As with any form of popular culture, bongo flava continues to evolve, taking on new sounds, new ideas, and new meanings with each passing year. These changes allow us to learn a great deal about youth culture in that country, and give us insight into the ways youth express their ideas, concerns, and beliefs. Hopefully, we will continue to see the music thrive in Tanzania, as artists learn new ways to make the music reflect their concerns and worldviews. And, of course, hopefully we will continue to enjoy the sounds of rap music blaring from radios, clubs, and stores throughout the country.

Tuzo kwa waimbaji bora - Kilimanjo Tanzania Music Award hatimaye zime fanyika August 6, 2004 iliwadia na wanamuziki kupatiwa tuzo hizo kwa mujibu kura walizopigiwa na wapenzi wa muziki. Utoaji wa Tuzo hizo zilizofanyika kwenye viwanja vya Karimjeee zilihudhuriwa na watanzania wengi wakiongozwa na Meya wa jiji la Dar es salaam, Mzee Skykes huku wakishuhudia

Kwa marafiki zangu, mashabiki wangu na wapenzi wengine wa muziki nyumbani tanzania na sehemu nyingine ulimwenguni ambako muziki wetu unasikika,natumaini wengi kama si wote tu wazima na tunaendelea vizuri na mihangaiko yetu ya kila siku . . . (bonyenza hapa kuendelea kusoma)

Mashabiki wanasemaje?soma baruwa pepe za mashabiki wa Sugu na wanachosema kuhusu yeye kurudi kwenye fani bonyenza hapa

In the press release Sugu breaks his silence and says there is a big possibility of him returning to the music scene which he and people love and a the scene in which he has played a big and pivotal role as he help build hip hop in Tanzania. He is considered to be one of the pioneers of Bongo flavor and the most influential hip hop artist of our genre. He took hip hop to a wider audience . . . (click here to read more)

Bongo Labour Day Party in USA.
"Balozi Dola nimefanya performance katika mkusanyiko ya wa Tanzania wote wanoishi Marekani siku ya tarehe 30 August 2003 ndani ya Washington D.C, USA. Party hiyo ilikwenda kwa jina 'Bongo Labour Day party' (Labour Day - ni sikuku ya wafanyakazi Marekani) Ilifanyika katita Club kubwa sana 'mjini DC 'Capitol city pavilion' kulikuwa na wa Tanzania kama 600 usiku huowalikuwepo . . .(bonyeza hapa kuendelea kusoma)

In 2001, Balozi Dola while in Tanzania assisted a group of eight young teenagers write a song

Click the above link to read more and also hear the song "HaliDuni" as an mp3 file.