When Nandy launched The Afrikan Princess label in 2023, she was not simply adding record executive to her list of titles.
She was attempting something relatively uncommon in Tanzania’s music industry: building a business specifically around female artistes, with ambitions that stretched beyond Tanzania. Her ambition was clear from the beginning.
“I’m pleased to formally introduce to you The African Princess label, which will mostly sign female musicians. We think this platform will greatly nurture the dreams of aspiring female musicians,” Nandy said at the label’s launch.
But there was a bigger dream behind the announcement. Nandy wanted the label to become a platform for female talent beyond Tanzania, describing it as an African label that could eventually feature artistes from different countries.
“It’s my hope our fans and media will give us all the support we need so that we help aspiring female artistes to attain their dreams. That’s why this is not just a Tanzanian label but an African one. Expect to see talent from different countries,” she said at the time.
Three years later, that dream is evolving. The Afrikan Princess now brings together Nandy, emerging singer Pipi Jojo and veteran vocalist Linah Sanga, creating a roster that spans generations of Tanzanian music.
The newest addition, Linah, is also the clearest indication that Nandy’s ambitions have grown beyond simply discovering young talent.
For more than two years, Nandy had been trying to convince Linah to return to music.
In my music journey, I followed Linah closely. She was a role model to me. Linah has outstanding talent,” Nandy said while introducing her to the label.
She described the process as difficult, saying she repeatedly encouraged the veteran singer to return after she had lost confidence in continuing with music.
“Honestly, we spent more than two years convincing her to come back to music because she had completely given up,” Nandy said. For Linah, the decision eventually became about more than signing to another label. It became a reminder that her place in music had not disappeared.
“Nandy had spoken in different media outlets saying that among her favourite and best artistes, I was one of them. She kept approaching me and my manager, and eventually I agreed,” Linah said.
Her most revealing statement, however, was about what the partnership meant to her personally.
“Through joining this label, I have learned that I am valuable,” Linah said.
That sentence perhaps captures the evolution of The African Princess better than any corporate description could.
Nandy is not only putting new names on a roster. She is using her position as an established female artiste to create opportunities for women at very different stages of their careers.
Pipi Jojo represents the younger generation, entering the industry at a time when social media, streaming and digital discovery can shape an artiste’s career as much as traditional radio and television.
Linah represents something else: experience, an established catalogue and a generation of female artistes whose careers were built before today’s digital ecosystem existed. Nandy sits between the two.
She understands what it means to be the young woman trying to establish herself in a male-dominated industry, but she now also understands what it takes to run a music business.
The first test of that model was Yammi, whom Nandy discovered through TikTok and signed as the label’s first artiste in January 2023.
Yammi’s time under The African Princess produced tangible results.
She released music, performed on major stages, grew her profile and became one of Tanzania’s most-streamed female artistes on Boomplay in 2023, according to local reports.
The label also helped connect her with Ziiki Media, which has a partnership with Warner Music Group.
When the partnership ended in 2025, however, the story did not have to be interpreted as a failure.
The African Princess said Yammi had grown and matured artistically during her time at the label and welcomed the fact that she had secured new investors to continue developing her career.
Yammi herself later said she had paid to exit the label, putting the figure at Sh100 million, although the circumstances around the separation became a subject of public discussion.
What remains difficult to dispute is that Yammi left The African Princess with a considerably larger public profile than when she entered it.
That matters.
A successful record label should not necessarily be measured by how long an artiste remains under contract. It should also be measured by whether that artiste leaves with a stronger identity, catalogue, audience and ability to stand on her own.
By that measure, Yammi’s journey provides an early indication that Nandy’s model can produce growth, even if the relationship eventually ends.
The challenge now is scale.
For its first two years, Yammi was effectively the label’s only artiste. Her departure in 2025 created an opportunity for Nandy to rebuild rather than abandon the original idea. The label subsequently introduced Pipi Jojo and, in 2026, brought in Linah.
That changes the proposition.
The African Princess is no longer simply Nandy discovering a young singer and helping her navigate the industry. It is becoming a space where an emerging artiste can learn alongside an established veteran, while Nandy herself develops the business behind them.
And that is where Nandy’s bigger music dream becomes visible. She is turning admiration into opportunity. Her admiration for Linah did not end with being a fan of her music. It became an attempt to bring her back into an industry she had stepped away from.
Her discovery of Yammi did not end with a viral TikTok video. It became a management relationship that helped introduce the young singer to a wider audience and industry infrastructure. And with Pipi Jojo, the experiment continues with another emerging female voice.
Whether The African Princess ultimately becomes a lasting institution will depend on what happens next: the number of artistes it develops, the careers those artistes build, the opportunities they access and whether the label can create a sustainable business beyond Nandy’s own star power. But the evidence so far suggests that Nandy is already doing something significant.
She is proving that an established female artiste can use her success not only to create more visibility for herself but also to create a doorway for other women.
Three women now stand under The African Princess banner, but they represent three different chapters of the same industry. Nandy is the established star who became the builder. Pipi Jojo is the emerging voice looking for her place.
Linah is the veteran being reminded that her story is not finished. And perhaps that is the bigger idea behind The African Princess: not simply creating stars, but creating a space where women can enter, grow, evolve and, eventually, decide how far they want their music to take them.
