ENTERTAINMENT

CHADEMA mourns fallen Taarab artistes

 

Chadema shadow minister for information, culture ad sports Joseph Mbilinyi

Leadining Tanzania’s opposition political party has expressed shock and grief over the death of 13 Five Star Modern Taarab’s musicians who perished in a motor vehicle accident in Morogoro on Monday night.

In a press release addressed to the Media and signed by the party’s shadow minister for information, culture ad sports Joseph Mbilinyi, CHADEMA regrets to lose those artistes.

The letter goes on to say CHADEMA joins in families of the deceased to mourn the fallen Tarab musicians who are irreplaceable.

“We are grief stricken to lose the artistes who have been groomed through hefty resources and have left behind families let alone the huge gap to be covered”, part of the press statement says.

The artistes perished on Monday night when a bus they were traveling in hit a parked lorry and skidded as their driver tried in to evade a head on collision against another lorry coming from the opposite lane.

CHADEMA becomes the first opposition party to respond and send condolences through the media over the shocking road accident.

United Republic of Tanzania’s President Jakaya Mrisho Kiwete also expressed a profound shock over the accident and requested families and relatives to remain calm at this crucial moment.

ENTERTAINMENT

Beauty alone without education is nothing, Miss Tourism Tanzania top winners told

 

Miss Tourism contestants. (Photo file)

Three top winners of this year’s Miss Tourism Tanzania are expected to start their educational scholarship at Dar es Salaam City College where they will study courses of their choices.

The top three winners are Adelqueen Jonzi’ Happywitney Andrew and Mariam Rabii who merged number one, two and three respectively.

Speaking in an interview, Gideon Chipungahelo who is the chairman of Miss Tourism Tanzania said he was very proud that the top three winners of this year event were offered an opportunity to study, adding that the three should fully utilize the chance because education was the only sure way to a good future.

He said the trio should bear in mind that beauty alone without good education was nothing.

Chipungahelo further asked other organizations, learning institutions to consider providing scholarships to girls who merged the best at any beauty competition.

“I am really happy that Dar es Salaam City Collage is offering scholarships to the girls who emerged top three winners at this year Miss Tourism finals. To me, this is the best way of rewarding the girls,” he said.

He asked the girls to make good use of what he described as a life time opportunity

“To have a chance to study at a collage is an opportunity that never comes easily, and my plea to all the girls is that they must make use of it,” he said.

Adelqueen Jonzi will pursue a diploma courses in Journalism and Mass communication, Happywitney Andrew a diploma in Human Resources management and Public Relations and Mariam Rabi a diploma in Business administration.

ENTERTAINMENT

Malawian musician to stage Africa march

 

Jimmy Anderson aka Chiozo

Malawi reggae musician Jimmy Anderson alias Chiozo will later this year perform in the country enroute on his across Africa walk to promote African cultural awareness.

The 81,000-km walk will begin in South Africa at the end of this month with shows Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

ìThe walk and concerts will carry the massage to all African governments to promote culture,î said in Dar es Salaam yesterday.

ìI want our children and grand children to know what Africans were doing,î he added.

ìIíll be requesting Disk Jockeys (DJ) to play my single album titled Radio Presenter on the eve of my arrival, he said, adding that he expects to reach Cairo on February 12, 2013.

He said his dream would to outdo British colonizer Cecil John Rhodes who managed to walk from South Africa to Egypt for three years.

ìIf I reach Cairo on Feb 12, 2013, Iíll outdo the record set by Rhodes,î he said.

ENTERTAINMENT

Mjomba:Tinkling political nerves by poetic monologues

 

It takes a while and perhaps a bit of patience to actually figure out what separates the ‘music’ from the ‘poetry’ and if there is an element of artistic monologue or innovative speech making to escape censors for unregistered political activity, all sewn up together in performances of Mrisho Mpoto.

The cultural globe trotter seems to represent something unique, which is likely to be everything to everyone – as to whether people follow what he says for its content, its rhythm, or even for its music, as he also runs a music band; it always does drumming in the background as he conducts a poetic monologue. Does the music ever start?

It is hard to find equivalences of Mpoto in recent or decades long African music, as there are similarities and dissimilarities, since he comes up as eloquently in a political sense like Fela Anikulapo Kuti, but the latter was talking while doing throbbing music, not ‘distant drums.’

On the local scene there was the late Ramadhani Mtoro Ongala or famously Dr Remmy Ongala, who talked more or less without hindrance, but again the musical part was vivid, and one could say this or that song was performed. There aren’t quite songs performed by Mpoto but rather poems sung, in a monologue style of presentation, which breaks some old rules here.

Since Mpoto comes across as a keeper of tradition rather than a musical campaigner or political poet in that sense, interest in a dialogue would have featured in how he performs, was it a matter of keeping to the tradition, here of ‘ngonjera,’ platform exchanges, dialogues of a mildly competitive sort.

It is as if there is an ethical debate about something where two forms of the matter are presented, but as they come from the same community it becomes a sharing of feelings and exploration of shades of similar sentiments. What one says is complemented by the other, as each is only a witness of broader, shared social experience.

It is unlikely that the ‘ngonjera’ tradition, which is close to praise singing in a traditional ceremony context, actually animates Mpoto, but rather comes close to the Dr Remmy version of things, where it is his viewpoint that is being aired. The ‘band’ becomes something of an instrumental back up rather than a community of artists who are actually doing singing, or even mutually shared poetry.

It is clear who has the stage and what he seeks to say is the purpose of that stage – that it is this expression, the poetry which is intended to be put across, not the potential music that could otherwise be produced by the band.

As a portion of local audiences have not seem images of Mpoto performing to foreign audiences, it becomes a bit interesting to hear from write ups about the poet, that his main interest in foreign appearances is to promote Kiswahili poetry through music.

Unless there is another set of activities which he would embark on for those audiences, locally it wouldn’t add up, to take up punchy political commenting through poetic rhythms, deliver it to audiences who know little of that subject, and in Kiswahili. Unless perhaps it was Kenya or Burundi, and a bit of Uganda, Rwanda and much of the Congo DR, who would grasp the issue?

ENTERTAINMENT

Hundreds mourn Fatma Dogodogo

Tanzania One Theatre’s (TOT Plus) vocalist Fatma Ali Salimu, or popularly known as ‘Fatma Dogodogo’, has died at the Mwananyamala Hospital last Sunday afternoon.

Dogodogo’s untimely death was confirmed by TOT’s executive director captain John Komba through a press statement availed to The Guardian yesterday.

It was cervical cancer that claimed the death of the Taarab band’s most popular and hard working lady.

Komba said the entire TOT fleet of staff and Taarab Music fraternity has been shocked by the demise of the singer who used to win hearts of the fans in and outside the country.

Born on June 11, 1962 at Unguja Urban West in Zanzibar, Dogodogo is survived by a daughter and three grand children.

The short but stocky beautiful singer crossed over to TOT in June 1998 from an art group with the Zanzibar’s Ministry of Education, Sports and Culture.

Since then she has been an ardent TOT singer loyal enough to shrug off any temptation to join any other group.

The grief-stricken Komba said Dogodogo has left a huge gap not only to the TOT as a staff but also as a family head.

He said the singer used to be a hardworking, tolerant and composed throughout her musical career.

Dodogogo was buried at the Mwananyamala cemetery yesterday with a huge turn up of family members, friends, relatives, music fans and many more.

ENTERTAINMENT

MISS TABATA COMPETITION SET FOR JUNE 10

Miss Tabata 2011 will be held on June 10 at Dar West Park, it was been announced. The co-ordinator of the event, Joseph Kapinga, said yesterday that 25 contestants were busy rehearsing to succeed Consolata

Miss Tabata contestants pose in a group picture

Lukosi who won the title last year.

Aspirants are current training at Daí West Park under trainer Joyce Kaniki. They are Marion Augustino (19), Lucy Mboya (21), Neema Marwa (18), Catherine Julius (20), Hawa Rajabu (19), Lilian William (20), Godliver Mashamba (22) and Dorice Mutabingwa (21).

Others are Sweetlily Suleiman (21), Maria John (21), Happyness Emmanuel (18), Cresensia Haule (20), Mariam Manyanya (21), Angela Benard (18), Agustina Mshanga (20), Nasra Salim (21), Faiza Ally (19), Mgayo Haruna (21) and Edina Mnada (21).

There are also Angela Fortunatus (21), Lucia Joseph (20), Neema Mwakibinga (21), Lilian Brayson (22), Rita Mvungi (21) and Willieth Wilson (22).

Miss Tabata is sponsored by Dodoma Wine, Vodacom, Redds Original, Integrated Communications, Paris Pub, Fabak Fashion, Freditto Entertainment, Chicken Hut, Travel Partners, Ben Expedition, Screen Masters, Sean Entertainment, Screen Masters and Michuzi blogspot.

Reigning Miss Tabata Consolata Lukosi emerged runner-up at Vodacom Miss Tanzania final last year. She also crowned Miss Redds Ambassador.

Miss Tabata is organized by Bob Entertainment and Keen Arts.

ENTERTAINMENT

BANZA STONE TO COLOUR EXRA BONGO'S INTRODUCTION

Extra Bongo Next Levelí today introduces new singer Ramadhan Masanja Banza Stone at Meeda hall in Sinza area, Dar es Salaam.

The band`s managing director Ali Choki said in Dar es Salaam yesterday that the occasion would be also be used introduce Extra Bongo`s website.

He said the second show will be held at the Ukonga Prison Officers Mess where the bandís new manager Tito Thomas would be introduced.

Banza Stone is expected to introduce his new song Watu na Falsafa ya Maisha, Choki said.

He said his band has completed recording five songs for the second album after the first one called Mjini Mipango.

He named the songs as Fisadi wa Mapenzi (Rogert Hega), Neema (Athanas), Mtendwa akitendewa (Choki), Watu and Falsafa (Banza).

ENTERTAINMENT

DAR MUSICIAN WINS DANCING EXHIBITION

Omari Mohamed won hearts of music fans as he excelled during the Str8 Muzik freestyle competition that involved competitors from three Mainland regions staged in Dar es Salaam over the weekend.

Dar’s leading night club venue, Club Bilicanas hosted the event as Mohamed beat the rest of the competitors from other regions.

During the competition, Daudi Nisan was also declared the best master of ceremonies while the Blue Sexy dance group pocketed half million shillings for

Winning the category.

In the disco jockey category, Mohamed won the title after beating his namesake Omari Saidi who to the second spot. He received a DJ kit, an award from Str8 Muzik and a gift hamper.

Nisan became won his award when he outshone 12 other contestants

in that category. He was awarded a gift hamper and a recording deal courtesy of Str8 Muzik at a studio of his own choice.

All the awards were presented by Tanzania Cigarette Company official Isamba Kasaka.

In the dance category, Blue Sexy dance group was the best as they outwitted Tatanisha.

Highlights from the competition included thrilling performances from various

artistes in the likes of Khalid Mohamed or TID, Fid Q or Farid Kubanda and Mexilana Lacavela from Sinza.

The preliminary stages of the competition had previously taken place in Mwanza and Mbeya.