Zanzibar Stars Modern Taarab

OTTU Jazz Band and Zanzibar Stars Modern Taarab were the biggest harvesters of awards at the Tanzania Music Awards 2004. Each band won three awards.

While the former’s Piga Ua, Piga Ua Talaka Utatoa grabbed Best Kiswahili Album and Best Kiswahili Song respectively, and Best Lyricist crowns, the latter’s Nitadumu Naye and Unalo Lilokukaa Na Roho ran away with Best Taarab Song and Best Taarab Album in that order, and Best Composer trophies. Having been formed in 1964 by the Organisation of Trade Union of Tanzania, OTTU may be the oldest band in Tanzania. Its name may have been changed over the past four decades from Nuta to Juwata before settling on the current OTTU, but its style has not changed.

Msondo, the music style derived from a drum widely used in East Africa and also from a dance-song genre performed at the initiation celebrations of girls of various ethnic groups in eastern Tanzania has remained for these years. In comparison, Zanzibar Stars is just two years old, having been formed in 2002 to entertain, educate and teach about new directions in Taarab music. The group, featuring well-known and popular artistes like Khadija Kopa, Zuhra Shaaban, Mzee Yusuf, Mwanahawa Ally, and Sihaba Juma, has become a household name on Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar because of its dance-driven tunes that young people enjoy.

Among the well selling albums of Zanzibar Stars are Pwani ya kiwengwa, Nimekinai umaskini wangu, Tutabanana hapa hapa, Mwenye Wivu ajinyonge, Wakerekao, Ulionayo huyajui, and Alokutwika.

Zanzibar Stars, like OTTU, is unlike new generation musicians who perform Tanzanian Kiswahili hip hop known as Bongo Flava that relies on back up tracks and is increasingly coming under criticism as being bankrupt of creativity. Most Bongo flava musicians have been criticised for their inability to play any musical instrument and for their reliance on playback that usually fail them at live performances.

Thespians like Mgunga mwa Mnyenyelwa of Parapanda Lab Trust, singer Carola Kinasha of Shada Band, music producer Marlon Linje, and Waziri Ally (leader of the Kilimanjaro Band) are some of the people who are critical of Bongo Flava that they term ‘mziki wa fujo’ (music of chaos). Instead of relying on producers to put together tracks for them, Ally says, Bongo Flava artistes should consider learning how to play musical instruments, write and arrange music instead of merely singing to backup tracks prepared for them by producers.

Challenging them to creativity and innovation, Linje says Bongo artistes must learn to listen to other musicians and music styles, and introduce innovation in their works. Hence it is hardly surprising that older generation musicians like OTTU and Zanzibar Stars should grab top prizes at what is considered premier Tanzanian music event its shortcomings notwithstanding.

Critics fault the awards on the nomination and voting system that could be easily manipulated. During the nomination, a panel selects the names of musicians that are then printed in newspapers and online (www.kilitimetz.com) before members of the public are invited to vote via Short Text Messages (SMS), online, email (mapendekezo@kilitime.com) or newspaper coupons.

Writing from Dar es Salaam, Dominick Mwita points out that some artistes questioned the nomination criteria, terming them ‘illogical’ and ‘strange’. Mwita quotes an artiste as saying that fans cannot be trusted to make a fair judgment as they ‘know nothing about music’. The organizers, he adds, had no way of identifying and addressing discrepancies such as multiple voting or self-voting.

Some of the flaws in the Tanzania Music Awards cited by critics are that many songs win not because of their artistic quality but because they are the songs receiving massive airplay on radio and television and that votes can only be cast for musicians nominated by judges rather than the public. Could this explain why leading Tanzanian traditional musician Saida Karoli was neither nominated nor invited to the Awards ceremony, despite her immense popularity in Eastern and Central African region?

Yes, the nomination process can not only influence voting patterns but also keep out musicians who are out of favour with the forces that be. Tanzanian Music Awards, instead of focusing on Africa as they did when South African Mafikizolo and Congolese Samba Mapangala were nominated, should focus on Tanzania in particular and East Africa as a way of honoring the expanding generic Kiswahili music.

Cover of Lady JayDee’s Binti, that won Best R&B Album Award

It is hoped Uganda’s Pearl of Africa Music Awards, set for October 2, will not replicate these shortcomings that also plague Kenya’s Kisima Music Awards. Uganda began honouring her musicians in 2003. All one requires to participate in Pearl of Africa Awards is to have produced a recording between August 2003 and August 2004 and a nomination. Like in 2003, mobile telephone service provider Celtel and Bell Beer are jointly sponsoring the event and will steer clear of a judging panel.

The Ugandan event, like its Kenyan and Tanzanian counterparts, will rely on public voting via SMS before the results are processed by an accounting firm. Here, Ernest & Young will handle the results just like Executive Solutions and CPJ & Associates did for Tanzania and Kenya, respectively.

Factors like sales of albums, the social impact of the recording and the creativity employed by musicians should be considered to avoid complaints. Professional judges should set standards on music creativity instead of putting the heavy responsibility on members of the public whose voting may depend on considerations other than art. It has often been pointed out that popular music may not necessarily be also artistic. This is what should guide organisers of music awards in East Africa if their aim is to help develop the music of the region.

The Tanzania Music Awards, began in 1999 under the direction of Serengeti Promotions and the National Arts Council (Baraza la Sanaa la Taifa, BASATA), and were sponsored by Tanzania Breweries in conjunction with BASATA. Sauda Simba Kilumanga, the brand manager of Kilimanjaro Premium Larger under whose auspices the awards were given, says the aim of the Tanzania Music Awards is to preserve the cultures of Tanzania besides honouring and encouraging artistes through public recognition. In 2000, Look Promotions and Clouds FM had organised the award before the responsibility was placed on the shoulders of Dandu Planet Africa under Cool James (late James Mwana wa Dandu) in 2001 and 2002.

Prime Time Promotions and Executive Solutions organised the 2004 edition.

The awards ceremony, presided over by the Dar es Salaam Mayor and held at Karimjee Gardens on the night of August 6, 2004, produced the following full results:

Back to Top