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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Bongo Flava - language, identity and politics in Tanzanian youth culture
| Panel |
20. Popular culture and politics - alternative channels of expression
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| Paper ID | 185 |
| Author(s) |
Englert, Birgit
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | Bongo Flava, also known as the “music of the new generation” (muziki wa kizazi kipya), has grown over the past ten years into the most important form of music in Tanzania. Initially very much modelled on US-HipHop, Bongo Flava now encompasses a great variety of musical styles ranging from hardcore-rap to Rhythm and Blues and songs with great influences from the longstanding Tanzanian music genres ngoma, dansi and taarab.
This music can be claimed to be a major outlet for the expression of youth identities which are probably as diverse as Bongo Flava itself. Thus, listening to Bongo Flava is an important means of understanding young people’s perceptions of life but also politics.
The “superstars” of Bongo Flava, which are mostly based in Dar-es-Salaam have been in the focus of a number of recent studies. However, thousands of young people in various regions of the country not only consume but also produce Bongo Flava music on the local level; in the Tanzanian context they are labelled as “undergrounds”. While few ever succeed to have their music recorded, the great majority of youthful artists derives their motivation from what they call “to educate the society” - an aspect or function which has played an important role in the history of music in Tanzania.
This paper will discuss the ways in which youth in a regional town, Morogoro, consume but also produce music and thus offers insights into youth culture at the grassroots level. It will examine the language choices and themes of maandagraundi artists and explore how they compare to the choices of the “superstars”. It is argued that despite significant differences concerning the choice of language and topic, both groups through their music participate in the construction of Tanzanian national identity and political discourse.
The paper is based on empirical material collected in Swahili language in summer 2006: qualitative interviews with “underground” artists on the one hand and questionnaires with youth of different ages and backgrounds on the consumption of music (and its relationship with the consumption of various media on the other hand).
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