Classic Taarab in the shadows of modernity

It is Friday evening around Travertine Hotel, Magomeni Dar es Salaam, the neighbourhood is quite busy and all seems to be set for an evening gig at the hotel’s back yard.

And as I gather it was supposed to be a concert by Mzee Yusuf and his famous Jahazi Modern Taarab group which has in the last decade become so popular across the country.

And as advertised by the mobile PA system, it turned out to be an electrifying evening for the youthful audience that turned out to watch the energetic performance of the taarab maestro.

Indeed by the dance moves on stage and elsewhere, the beats which are more rhythmic than in classic taarab, there is every indication that times have changed, a new phenomenon has taken over.

The once laid back genre which was reserved for the entertainment of the sultan and his guests has taken completely a different direction which some pundits claim has been commercialized.

According to Wikipedia, taarab as a word was derived from Arabic which means ‘having joy with music’.

When the Oman Arabs annexed Zanzibar in the late 19th century, Sultan Seyyid Barghash bin Said’s life style which was characterized with love for luxury was a major influence as he would sit back and enjoy Taarab tunes at the Beit el-Ajab.

In fact the genre’s entrenchment along the East African coast is credited to the Sultan’s generosity as he regularly imported a taarab ensemble from Egypt to entertain him at his palace.

And even the later day performers such as Sitti Binti Saad and Bi Kidude claim to have drawn their inspiration from the Egyptian group.

During her heyday, the late Bi Kidude used to entertain sailors who had just docked in Zanzibar after a tumultuous journey on rough seas.

Thanks to her compositions, the sailors would compose their own songs as they reflected on their next sails.

Slowly, the music genre that has its origins from South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa, and the Middle East began to take shape as more taarab groups mushroomed in the Isles and later on, along the coast.

Towards the end of the 20th century names such as the late Mzee Issa Matona, Patricia Hillary, Mwanamtama Amir, Nasim Abdul, Khadija Kopa and Nasma Hamis Kidogo graced the taarab scene.

It was music that was revered at family gatherings along the coast with an extended influence that transcended the East African boundary to as far as Congo.

Love was the main theme that ruled most compositions just as it is today, but it still had the classical appeal, thanks to the messages it carried across.

Songs like Issa Matona’s  ‘Nyama ya Bata ni Tamu’, ‘Njiwa Peleka Salamu’ by Patricia Hillary and ‘Subalkheri Mpenzi’ by Same Haji  Dau and Kombe Hiyari were instant hits that have survived even the onslaught of modern taarab influences.

Children would accompany parents to such performances, thanks to the messages which were understandable and easy to chew.

“It was not an issue to go with my auntie to watch Mzee Issa Matona as he performed,” recalls Kulthum Mohamed, a taarab fan based in Dar es Salaam.

 According to Kulthum, taarab fans had high respect for their idols.

“Then taarab didn’t require much energy and sweat while dancing, backup singers sat while the lead artiste would stand in an orchestra formation,” she adds.

At the turn of the millennium a silent revolution was taking place on Tanzania’s music scene with the birth of what came to be known as Bongo Flava, these events did not spare taarab.

In fact most believe it was taarab’s renaissance as the upcoming groups wanted to reverse the misfortunes that had hit the industry with many of its fans being people beyond their youth.

This new movement witnessed the birth of new groups and solo artistes who were eager to capture the youthful audience which were now into Congolese music and the emerging Bongo Flava.

While TOT and Muungano Cultural Troupe were the dominant groups by then, many groups and artistes such as Jahazi Modern Taarab, Mashauzi Classic and Babloom Modern Taarab were born around this time.

These groups had one thing in common; they all featured the word modern in their naming which was a symbol of defiance to the old guard and the status quo.

Taarab at that point had taken a pop music direction with more rhythm and energy to the extent that most bands today feature queen dancers at their performances.

Popular instruments like accordions, xylophones, flutes and drums were all replaced by the keyboard which was all they needed to do the trick.

The once easy message from traditional taarab would now become the usual insults and verbal exchanges that have more than ten years now become the order of the day in taarab performances.

And just like pop music and hip hop the genre turned into a field of glamour and pomp.

It has, in fact, turned into a field of clashes as the musicians set out to cancel one another on a daily basis.

Nasma Hamis’ Sanamu Ya Michellin was a direct attack to Khadija Kopa which likened her to the Michelin advert.

Which many believe was a response to Kopa’s  Taarab Ipo Humo, where Khadija Kopa mocked her rival’s lack of curves .

The messages of modern taarab are so explicit that it is easier to tell who is being mentioned in the song. 

The singers even boast of their prowess  and the TLC that they get from their spouses such as  in Mzee Yusuph’s  Kupendwa Ndio Huku.

Such messages have also affected the way taarab fans dress and dance in various gigs as Mr Taimar Rukuni Twaha, a taarab singer with Cultural Musical Club of Zanzibar puts it.

“The desire of making quick money and earning fame is what killed traditional taarab,” he says.

Referring to traditional taarab, Mr Taimar says euphemism dominated the genre and that it was not easy to know what was actually spoken about in a particular song.

“There is a love song we had composed titled Nyota Itaanguka, One couldn’t tell that  it was a woman we were talking about, unlike tod=ay where a spade remains a spade,” adds Mr Taimar.

Though he confesses that the wind of change was the cause for all this, Mr Taimar is still not happy with how taarab has turned to be today.

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