Renee Lamira receives home recognition. At last. Who says hard work does not pay?

Ferouz and Rose Mhando may have been declared Best Male and Best Female musicians in 2004, but perhaps the biggest winner was folk musician Renee Lamira, who shed off her underdog status to bag the Best Tanzanian Folk Music Single award with her Ngoma ya kwetu song that has also seen her receive three Africa Music Video Award nominations from a South African television channel in early 2005.

Lamira is quickly consolidating her position as a force to reckon with in the Tanzanian music scene. Barely out of her adolescence, she is choosing her steps carefully, steering clear of the mass-produced bongo flavour in preference for world music.

While P-Funk of Bongo Records and 2 Eyes Production retained their Best Producer and Best Video producer awards they had won in 2004, Banana Zoro simply switched from Best Male Musician in 2004 to Best R’N’B Single in 2005. Also unchallenged was Ugandan Joseph Mayanja whose Jamila was declared Best East African Album. The previous year, Bei Kali had won Best Foreign Album award.

But 2004 winners Ray C (Best Female Musician), Lady Jay Dee (Best R & B Album), Mr Nice (Song of the Year), Mzee Yusuf (Best Composer) and OTTU (Best Lyricist, Best Kiswahili Song, Best Kiswahili Album) were not as lucky in 2005.

Unlike 2004 when Zanzibar Stars Modern Taarab and OTTU Band each won three awards, in 2005 only African Stars Twanga Pepeta and Christian music singer Rose Mhando managed to get two awards each. While the former took Best Swahili Rhythms Album (Mtu Pesa) and Best Male Vocalist of the Year (Ramadhan “Banza Stone” Masanja), the latter ran away with Best Gospel Album trophy for her popular Mteule uwe macho album besides emerging Best Female Vocalist.

In 2004 Zanzibar Stars took Best Taarab Song, Best Taarab Album, and Best Composer trophies. However this time round competition from East Africa Melody Modern Taarab denied Stars the Best Album award.

It was unclear how Mhando could have accepted an award from a beer company while she blames Satan for saddling young people with alcohol in her Shetani nipishe nipite song. Did she fail to heed her own caution to the 'elect' that they beware of Satan’s wiles?

Well, she went ahead to receive the best female vocalist and best religious music single awards without batting an eyelid from Tanzania Breweries Limited who are the main sponsors of the Tanzania Music awards. Does Mhando believe in what she sings about or is she simply having a form of godliness but denying its saving power? She didn't say so during the music gala show that was beamed live by ITV from the VIP Hall of Diamond Jubilee in Dar es Salaam.

It was gratifying when the late Dr Hukwe Ubi Zawose (1938-2003), the legendary singer and multi-instrumentalist specialising in Wagogo music, was inducted in the Hall of Fame for his contribution to Tanzanian music.

Winners of the two biggest awards, Ferouz and Zawose each won TSh1 million (US$1250).

Other awards attracted cash prizes of between TSh300000 and TSh500000 (US$375-500).

For the third year running, Tanzania folk music queen, Saida Karoli, was not feted. Despite this, she has a well-crafted R&B single on the market: Mimi Nakupenda

The song features popular bongo flava artist Banana Zoro with whom Karoli delivers a captivating and sentimental ballad in her lovely Haya-accented Kiswahili and penetrating mellow singing voice that has continued to earn her a place in the hearts of people of all ages and cultural backgrounds and has seen her jingle--Amka ee mawe...na BBC ii mawe...kwa habari ii hiyo—aired on BBC Kiswahili Service every morning.

Mimi Nakupenda, that is also expected to be on her fourth album, is a jazzy R&B track in which the saxophone features prominently above the well arranged instrumentation marrying well with Karoli's female and Zoro's baritone.

Tanzanian reggae musician Innocent Nganyagwa at a Press conference in Zanzibar

Mimi Nakupenda is likely to please and appeal even non-Kiswahili speakers with Karoli's unique voice and crisp quality as she pledges her allegiance to her lover and questions the human heart in love. If this track is anything to go by, then it is clear that Karoli, the undisputed queen of Tanzanian folk music, has great potential and can sing just about any genre. It is in the top of the charts in Tanzania and appears on several Bongo Flava compilation albums in East Africa. When released, Mimi Nakupenda will be Karoli's fourth album.

Popular in East and Central Africa, Karoli has performed in mainland Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Congo-Kinshasa, and Zanzibar Island where she is almost idolised by fans.

Although she sings predominantly in Kihaya, her penetrating mellow vocals readily connect her even with people who do not understand the language of the musician born and brought up in Rwongwe village where Felician Mutta, her manager and producer, discovered, prepared, and ushered her onto the stage of music.

It would also have made sense to induct Siti Binti Saad, the legendary Taarab singer who is credited with popularising Kiswahili into the hall of fame at this time when Malindi Musical Club is celebrating a centenary in Taarab music.

Though sponsored by Tanzania Breweries through its Kilimanjaro beer brand, it is felt that Tanzania’s premier music event—founded in 1999 by Serengeti Promotions and the National Arts Council (Baraza la Sanaa la Taifa, BASATA)--should shed the toga ‘Kilimanjaro’ from their name and just remain Tanzania Music Awards. TBL would still be acknowledged for their generosity

If this were done, critics point out, the action would not put the likes of Mhando in the awkward position in which she found herself in 2005.

These awards would face a terrible identity crisis were Kilimanjaro Premium Larger to pull out and its successor insisted on renaming them, say, ComMattersKenya Music Awards!

Renee Lamira’s stature in African music continues to rise

Just imagine what would have happened had the awards been named Serengeti Promotions Music Awards or BASATA Music Awards in 1999 then Look Promotions Music Awards or Clouds FM Music Awards who organised them in 2000. In 2001 and 2002, Cool James (the late James Mwana wa Dandu) whose Dandu Planet Africa took charge would have renamed them Dandu Planet Africa Awards before becoming Prime Time Promotions and Executive Solutions awards in 2004

The short and long of this is that Tanzanians ought to maintain an identity for their music awards and the best way to do this would be in its naming. Perhaps they could borrow a leaf from Uganda’s Pearl of Africa Music Awards, or even from the much discredit Kisima Awards in Kenya.

Another shortcoming for which the awards were criticized was the entry fee of TSh50000 (about US$5) that was felt was too high and denied many music lovers—who would have enjoyed seeing their icons publicly recognized and feted—a chance to participate in the event.

The awards were presented in 25 categories while voting methods were the now ubiquitous and infamous Short Message Service (SMS) and by filling in newspaper coupons.

Oscar Shelukindo, the Kilimanjaro Premium Lager Brand Manager had told reporters ahead of the awards that TBL had set aside more than TSh10 million (about US$12500) towards prizes. Among the artists who performed at the awards ceremony were The Voice, Steve Nyerere, Twanga Pepeta, Kihumbe Asili, Mr Nice (Lucas Mkenda), Khadija Kopa, K-Lyinn (Jacqueline Ntuyabaliwe), Blue Three of Uganda and Minanawe of South Africa.

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