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AEGIS European Conference on African Studies
11 - 14 July 2007
African Studies Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Popular music in the election campaign 2005 in Tanzania
| Panel |
20. Popular culture and politics - alternative channels of expression
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| Paper ID | 688 |
| Author(s) |
Reuster-Jahn, Uta
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| Paper |
No paper submitted
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| Abstract | In the 2002 election campaign in Kenya, the HipHop song "Unbwogable" by the artists Gidi Gidi Maji Maji played a major role in the movement for political change. Thus, it illustrated the potential of popular music as a symbol in which a message as well as a spirit can crystallize. The elections in Tanzania in 2005 also saw the involvement of popular music in the campaign, this time in favour of the ruling party CCM and its presidential candidate Jakaya Kikwete. A number of HipHop artists supported Kikwete’s campaign as a gesture of consent to his person and his programme. They did so by special shows, by wearing party emblems, and by special songs. The paper investigates the reasons for their support by analysing the messages of their songs. It shows that the notion of "youth" that is associated with Kikwete’s person, as well as his programme’s concern for Tanzanian youths, evoked the artists’ s liking for him. However, in their songs they did not only express confidence in Kikwete but also admonished him not to misuse his power once in office. Many songs contain a call for political renovation, as well as an appeal to youths to play a more active role in society. The paper analyses seven songs by well-known HipHop artists like Juma Nature (TMK), Mangwair, and Soggy Doggy that were aired on radio during the campaign. Some of them were even featured on albums. However, not only HipHop artists engaged in the campaign. Capt. Komba, leader of the group T.O.T, and himself a candidate of the CCM, produced campaign songs in the style of dance music (muziki wa dansi). Even a choir of the Lutheran Church (Upendo Group) had four songs in favour of CCM which were available on cassette. The song "Vijana msilale" (Youths you shouldn’t sleep!) has got a Tanzanian as well as a Kenyan version. The texts of both versions are compared and interpreted in the different political contexts of the two countries. |
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