COVER: Where did ‘Bongo Flava’ tag come from?

There is no question that  Bongo Flava has reached  new heights and the debate  on authenticity still rages on.

Bongo Flava has today claimed the music stage which was once a preserve  of  Congolese music .

Artistes such as Diamond Platinumz, Barnaba, Linah Sanga, Shilole, Ommy Dimpoz, Recho and Ali Kiba are reigning as its contemporary mega stars.

Names that include Professor Jay, Mr II, Juma Nature, Dully Sykes, Wagosi wa Kaya, TID and Lady Jay Dee will always remain the most influential pioneers and the genre’s models.

Last year when Diamond performed in Eastern Congo it was the first time for James Brown’s performance in 1974 that a foreign musician was having a gig there.

On that night the World had converged on Kinshasa with boxing legends Mohamed Ally and George Foreman fighting it out at the famous rumble in the jungle.

As we all know Bongo Flava today is the identity of music that comes from Tanzania.

The origins of this name can easily be traced from the early days of Radio One, the first privately owned radio station in Tanzania.

Sadly, at Radio One studios in Dar es Salaam which are marking their 20th anniversary this is not among notable innovations in two decades of successful services to Tanzanians.

“The term Bongo Flava was invented at Radio One before other media  outlets adopted it,” recalls Mwega Jaffari, a businessman at Mwenge.

Taji Liundi and Bongo Flava innovation

With the writer and the former DJ Neagre Jay (Masoud Masoud) being his inspirations, Bongo Flava was coined by presenter Taji Liundi.

This was the only way he could explain the new music created from syncopated words of American influenced Rhythm and Blues  but heavily flavoured with traditional Swahili poetry.

Bongo literary means Dar es Salaam but it could mean the whole Tanzania  for those in the diaspora.

Therefore, when Taji Liundi introduced it for the first time he called it  Muziki wenye ‘flavour za Kibongo’, which was later shortened to Bongo Flava.

Today, 20 years later, Bongo Flava has developed into a multi-genre music from a mere syncopated words(rap)  during its early stages under Saleh Jabir, 2 Proud(Mr 11), Balozi Soul and Ebony Moalim, who was the first artiste to officially launch an album.

“Later we started to hear it from  Liundi’s colleagues at Radio One, Mike Mhagama, Monica Mfumia, Sunday Shomari and later on  Sebastian Maganga who joined him in campaigning for the new music,” recalls Siamini Ally, a resident of Kawe.

Ally was then an ardent fan of ‘Charanga Time’ and ‘Zouk Time’, which he claims to have been the best innovations during the early days of Radio One.

Clearance of syncopation hurdle

At the beginning, syncopation as a placement of rhythmic stresses or accents to suit R&B beat seemed difficult for speakers of unaccented Kiswahili to cope with rap flow.

From what is seen in the early works by Saleh Jabir and 2 Proud, traditional poetry(majigambo) and Ujamaa era theatrical poems (ngonjera) cleared the syncopation hurdle.

2 Proud’s ‘Ni Hali Halisi’ is one of the few Bongo Flava hits that opted for the traditional approach in attaining sing-song style  of rapping.

“Most of American rap hits of that time observed lyric words done in stressed semi quavers and sixteenth note for the faster ones,  as opposed to common Swahili speaking and singing  adhered to  of 2/2, or 4/4 common time,” explains    Adelgot Haule, Police Jazz music expert.

From 2Pac to 2Proud, Naughty by Nature to Juma Nature

As a Swahilinised American rap, Bongo Flava didn’t start with Grand Master Flash, Africa Bambataa or Cool Moe Dee, the earliest rap artistes.

It was stars such as MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Public Enemy and 2Pac  Shakur, who won the biggest number of disciples when Radio One started in 1994.

Mbeya MP, Joseph Mbilinyi was called 2Proud in the early 1990s ,  which is likely to put him on 2Pac  allegiance, while Juma Nature  is likely to have penned his name from Naughty By Nature.

Billions in terms of income generation  

Though there is no exact figure of the youth engaged in Bongo Flava artistry, there is every indication that the industry is flourishing.

The financial status of a few artistes who own properties worth multi-millions and amounts some spend in producing their works is evidence of a money spinning industry.

The bubblegum tag

Bongo Flava beats may rank high in local and regional charts, yet experience shows that these productions enjoy status just briefly because audiences soon get bored.

Serious thinkers, however, take that as a sign of achievement that shows abundance of talent and opportunities to produce hits.

“What others might see  as a problem, Bongo Flava artistes ‘come, and go’ almost immediately, without or sustaining their fame. This in one way or another means there is a stiff competition for both appeal and market,” says Ally Yahaya, a former trumpeter with DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra.  

He argues that if there was no competition then hits such as  ‘Mtoto wa Geti Kali’ by Inspector Haroun,‘Hii leo’ by Crazy Gk and many others  would be still be popular.

“They were once very popular on radio and TV. It is not surprising that  they are no longer appealing today because others such as Diamond, Barnaba or Rich Mavoko have taken over the mantle,” he adds.

Bongo flava musician Ali Kiba, whose debut hit ‘Cinderella’ made him a household name thinks that the mushrooming of  local radio and TV stations has contributed much to the success of the genre.

 He comments: “The country had only one radio station in the past, but today there is an opportunity on different radio and television stations to play music.”

Bongo Flava Schools and models

Radio One is indisputable the first school of Bongo Flava, though no one denies the immense contribution of THT. Bongo Star Search and music festivals being organized by brewers TBL and SBL have made the genre hit its sky-high success.

With all that, certain artistes deserve recognition as their works helped to reshape Bongo Flava into what it is and create road map for their disciples. After Mr II who managed to create the first model of hits done in syncopated Swahili poetry, Bongo Flava also owes a lot to Wagosi wa Kaya from Tanga who invented rap poetry that mimics Sambaa phraseology(Mkoloni) and Tanga Urban Swahili.  Also deserving recognition in arming Bongo Flava with powerful fusions include Ray C whose early music  added elements of Indian Ghazals, TID who created influential R&B( Zeze) and funk-styled Coastal beats(Siamini) and Lady JD  who made it easy and Swahilinised Rhythm  and Blues.