Feb
22
Submitted by webmaster on Mon, 02/22/2010 - 22:06
Tanzania - Swahili Bongo Flava - Saida Karoli (Ntua Mayenje)
Posted by awatu
September 17, 2007
Video Descrption:
The vocalist sings outdoors and men and women dance. All of the people in this video wear traditional clothing and the men carry spears.
Contact
Email: jambalayah17@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2010-2011 Azizi Powell; All Rights Reserved
2 comments
Here's an excerpt from this Wikipedia page about Bongo Flava:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bongo_Flava
"Bongo Flava is a nickname for Tanzanian hip hop music. It could be translated as "Tanzanian Flavour". The genre, which is based out of the city of Dar es Salaam, takes its name from the Swahili word ubongo, meaning "brain".[1] Bongo, "brains", is the plural. The metaphor is slang for Dar es Salaam and more recently for Tanzania. In the music genre of Bongo Flava the metaphor of brains is also used to refer to the cunning and street smarts needed to survive.[2] Bongo Flava incorporates Afrobeat and arabesque melodies, dancehall and hip hop beats, Swahili lyrics and English phrases, combining aspects of the global hip hop scene with an East African flavor to form a unique style of music.[3]
The genre has immense popularity, reflected in the Tanzanian media outlets dedicated to the promotion of Bongo Flava. "TV and radio programs are dedicated to Bong Flava, which is also reflected in the sales figures of some of hip hop albums."[4] Outside of its historical home of Tanzania, Bongo Flava has become a resoundingly popular sound in neighboring countries such as Kenya[5]. Bongo Flava has even found a home outside of the African continent: the self-proclaimed "best internet station for Bongo Flava,"[6] Bongo Radio, happens to be based out of Chicago, Illinois...
Bongo Flava “mixes up a whole host of styles and influences from Black American music...its lyrics are sung in Swahili peppered with words and phrases in English and tackle subjects faced by the continent and the world over: poverty, ambition, success, money, HIV/AIDS, education and experiences we can all relate to such as love, jealousy, beauty and loneliness”[1].
Bongo Flava often incorporates social themes such as HIV/AIDS and community struggles, in a form sometimes characterized as "edutainment."[9] ...
Popular Bongo Flava artists include Juma Nature, Professor Jay and Dully Sykes, the former of whom was featured on the 2004 recording "Bongo Flava: Swahili Rap from Tanzania," produced by Out Here Records[11] Other artists featured on the same album include X-Plastaz, a northern Tanzanian group who have developed their own sub-genre within Bongo Flava known as Massai Hip Hop.[12]?
Selected (English language) viewer comments from
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=McPJPoAs67U&fromur...
chezanami (2 years ago) but she's one of the most selling musicians in eastern and central Africa doug. Saida keep it going homegirl, loveya.
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nyanjige1 (2 years ago) love this song
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next2shek (2 years ago) funny i speak Kenyan Swahili(the Bantu Swahili) yet i can't understand what she's saying but i love her.
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twentyeighter (1 year ago) Once in a while a rare thing happens, a person so well expresses and engages the kernel of brilliance and wisdom of a whole peoples. So many of us Tanzanians living abroad can only be proud and extremely home sick when we consider how painful it is to have a body in one land buy your heart in another.
Mungu ibariki Tanzania :)
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doughmitch (1 year ago) What is it about this woman and her music? Why am I so into her.
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sucrosed (1 year ago) you don't have 2 understand the words of the song 2 love it..the rhythm also matters.i don't understand a word she's sayin but iloooove ths song!
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zettebda (1 year ago) Good answer! LOve it! ha hahha ha
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batmanbeyond89 (8 months ago) I'd love to know what they're saying :-/
hafidy (7 months ago) me too!
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youthsister (6 months ago) see has a bautifull voice.
i like here voice too much.
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kemetian09 (6 months ago) I agree with Sucrosed. It is not necessary to understand the words to enjoy the music. I get into the spirit and soul of the music. This is beautiful.
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youthsister (6 months ago) i don`t understand swahili..
that`s to bad.but like too here here voice
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lethalveronica (5 months ago) MMM is not swahili i could hep you a bit with swahili i think the language used here is masai or other language near masai area hahaha.
But enjoy the Musiek.
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sweetapple51 (3 months ago) Love this music!
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bossoftheday (1 month ago) Show Hide 0 Marked as spam Reply | Spam The Language of this song is called Kihaya famous in Tanzania. Bukoa or Kagera who ever knows this places he will be able to understand.
Bukoba is the best for ever.
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13sweetessence (1 month ago) Fabulous video! I am not from Africa but I love the African culture and dance and music!!! Thank you for the video!!!
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Azizip17 (3 minutes ago) Thanks for posting this video! I also like the song & wish I knew what it was about. What language is this, & what does the title mean? Also, I'm REALLY fascinated by the dancing. These dance movements look A LOT like the mid 1960s American R&B dance "The Twist".
Are these dancers doing traditional Tanzanian dances? If so, from what ethnic group? Or are these dancers copying off of The Twist or did Chubby Checker or whoever invented that dance copy off of traditional African dancers???