Turkish hip hop refers to hip hop music produced by members of the Turkish minority in Germany, and to a lesser degree by hip hop artists in Turkey. The Turkish minority, called the Turks, first drew inspiration from the discrimination and racism they received while living as migrant workers in Germany in the 1960s. Turkish hip hop uses Arabesk music, a folk style that finds its roots in Turkey during the 1960s, and is influenced by the hip hop music of America and Germany. Album artwork, lyrical content, and the Turkish language are used by hip hop artists to express their uniquely Turkish identity.
Music listened by Tanzanians stretches from traditional African music to the string-based taarab to a distinctive hip hop known as bongo flava.
Joseph Mbilinyi, known for his stage names Mr. II and Sugu and 2-proud, is one of the founders of the hip hop music scene in Tanzania. He was also elected to the Tanzanian Parliament in 2010 and then 2015 to 2020.
Bongo flava is the nickname for Tanzanian hip hop music. The genre developed in the 1990s, mainly as a derivative of American hip hop, with additional influences from reggae, R&B, afrobeat, dancehall, and traditional Tanzanian styles such as taarab and dansi, a combination that forms a unique style of music. Lyrics are usually in Swahili or English.
The Tanganyika African National Union (TANU) was the principal political party in the struggle for sovereignty in the East African state of Tanganyika. The party was formed from the Tanganyika African Association by Julius Nyerere in July 1954 when he was teaching at St. Francis' College. From 1964 the party was called Tanzania African National Union. In January 1977 the TANU merged with the ruling party in Zanzibar, the Afro-Shirazi Party (ASP) to form the current Revolutionary State Party or Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM). The policy of TANU was to build and maintain a socialist state aiming towards economic self-sufficiency and to eradicate corruption and exploitation, with the major means of production and exchange under the control of the peasants and workers.
Tanzanian Hip-hop, also known as Bongo Flava, encompasses a large variety of different sounds, but it is particularly known for heavy synth riffs and an incorporation of Tanzanian pop. There is some debate over whether Bongo Flava, which has emerged as a defined pop movement, can really still be qualified under the overarching term "hip hop" and not a movement unto itself, when it is beginning to develop a distinctive sound that differs from hardcore rap or, for example, the Maasai Hip-hop of X Plastaz, who use the tradition of the Maasai tribe as the focal point for their sound and style. A form of Tanzanian hip hop is Bongo Flava. Bongo flava, derived from the Swahili word "ubongo", incorporates hip hop, Indian filmi, taraab, muzik wa dansi, and dancehall beats. It all began in the 1980s when Tanzanian teenagers were really interested in the American hip hop scene. At first, they took American beats and rapped to them. As the youth rapped, the hip hop in Tanzania began to develop into a mix of traditional and localized hip hop scene. As a result, it began a wave of interest from other people in Eastern Africa.
X Plastaz is a Tanzanian hip hop musical group based in Arusha and founded in 1996. They are one of the most popular acts in the Tanzanian hip hop scene. Their style mixes elements from international hip hop and traditional Maasai music, represented by Maasai singer Merege. While Merege sings in maa, the other members of the group rap in swahili and haya. Merege is also well known to perform in traditional Maasai clothings.
Juma Nature a.k.a. Sir Nature is a Tanzanian hip hop artist and vocalist. He is the founder and member of a Temeke group called Wanaume, an informal group of rappers from the poor side of Dar es Salaam. In his last album, "Bongo Flava: Swahili Rap from Tanzania", many of the lyrics which are in his tracks include current problems within his country. Some problems he raps about include, "HIV/AIDS, the difficulty of meeting basic needs, class and wealth barriers, and holding your head high despite everything". One of Nature's well renowned songs is "Umoja wa Tanzania" which talks about a celebration within Tanzania and the sense of unity that it has exemplified. “Utajijua” from Juma Nature's brand new album Ubin-Adam Kazi, is a song about people who like to poke their noses into others’ business.
Kwanza Unit (KU) was an early Tanzanian hip hop group. Its name means "First Unit" and it was formed in 1993 by a merger of several groups and solo artists. They started rapping in English, but later used Swahili as well.
Ujamaa was the concept that formed the basis of Julius Nyerere's social and economic development policies in Tanzania after it gained independence from Britain in 1961.
Bisso Na Bisso is a music collective of rappers and singers with origins from Congo Brazzaville formed in 1999. The group consisting of Ben-J, Lino and Calbo, Doc and G Kill, Mystik and the only female M'Passi was put together by French rapper Passi.
Dully Sykes is a Tanzanian musician known as the founder of the bongo flava genre in Tanzania.
Zavara Mponjika or simply MC Rhymson is a rapper from Tanzania who was the founder of the Villain Gangsters and a founding member of Kwanza Unit.
Dataz is a Tanzanian rapper. She was born in 1984 on the shores of Lake Nyasa in Mbamba Bay. Later she moved with her parents to Morogoro where she began her primary education. When Dataz was attending her secondary school, Ifunda, her talent for music became apparent.
Radio Tanzania Dar es Salaam is a radio service in Tanzania.
Balozi Dola,a.k.a.Balozi or Dolasoul, is a self-proclaimed “socially conscious” hip hop artist from Tanzania.
Saleh J, prominent Tanzanian hip hop pioneer, was born in Dar es Salaam as Saleh Jaber.
Ramazani "Remmy" Mtoro Ongala was a Tanzanian guitarist and singer. Ongala was born in Kindu near the Tanzanian border, in what was the Belgian Congo at the time, and now is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Vanessa Hau Mdee, also referred to as Vee Money, is a Tanzanian recording artist, singer songwriter, youth activist, TV and radio host. Mdee is popularly known for being the first ever Tanzanian MTV VJ. She later rose to prominence as a radio and TV host, hosting Epic Bongo Star Search and Dume CHallenge for ITV Tanzania before signing to B'Hits Music Group in late 2012.
