Bongo Flava is Tanzania’s pop music: Swahili lyrics over a mix of hip-hop, R&B and Afropop. Over the last two decades it has produced some of the biggest stars in East Africa, and many of them came through Diamond Platnumz’s WCB Wasafi label. These ten songs are essential listening.
1. Waah! by Diamond Platnumz featuring Koffi Olomidé (2020)
Diamond Platnumz flew the Congolese legend Koffi Olomidé from Kinshasa to Dar es Salaam for this song, and they wrote it within a few days of his arrival. Released in November 2020, the video passed a million views in eight hours, and it has since become one of the most-watched Tanzanian music videos on YouTube, with over 100 million views.
It was nominated for Best African Video at the 2021 All Africa Music Awards.
2. Kamwambie by Diamond Platnumz (2010)
Every Diamond Platnumz story starts here. “Kamwambie” was his breakthrough single in 2010, and he named his debut album after it the same year. He went on to become the first Africa-based artist to reach 900 million views on YouTube, and to found WCB Wasafi.
3. Number One (Remix) by Diamond Platnumz featuring Davido (2014)
This remix put Tanzania and Nigeria on the same record. Released in December 2014, it came in the same year Diamond Platnumz earned a BET Awards nomination for Best International Act: Africa.
4. Aje by Alikiba (2016)
Alikiba is often called the king of Bongo Flava. “Aje”, a love song, came out in 2016, the year he signed to Sony Music and became the first East African artist on the label. NotJustOk ranked it number three on its list of the best Tanzanian songs of 2012 to 2022.
5. Cinderella by Alikiba
Before the Sony deal, before the comeback, there was “Cinderella”. The song and the debut album that carried it became the biggest-selling record in East Africa in 2008. It is the foundation of his career.
6. Sukari by Zuchu (2021)
Zuchu came to WCB Wasafi through an audition, and in 2022 she became the most-subscribed female artist in Sub-Saharan Africa on YouTube. “Sukari”, released in January 2021, is her signature hit. NotJustOk placed it at number eight on its list of the best Tanzanian songs of the decade.
In 2023 she became the first female artist in East Africa to pass 500 million views on YouTube.
7. Kwa Ngwaru by Harmonize featuring Diamond Platnumz (2018)
Harmonize was the first artist to sign to WCB Wasafi, and “Kwa Ngwaru”, released in March 2018, teamed him with the label’s founder. He left WCB in 2019 and set up his own label, Konde Music Worldwide.
8. Kwetu by Rayvanny (2016)
“Kwetu” was Rayvanny’s first song, released in 2016, and it introduced him to the world. It earned him a Breakthrough Act nomination at the 2016 MTV Africa Music Awards.
9. Mama Tetema by Maluma featuring Rayvanny (2021)
Rayvanny’s “Tetema” had already been remixed with Pitbull, Mohombi, Jeon and Diamond Platnumz. In November 2021, the Colombian superstar Maluma took it further with “Mama Tetema”, a Spanish and Swahili version that appears on Maluma’s album Don Juan. It won Best Global Collaboration at the East Africa Arts Entertainment Awards.
It is probably the furthest a Bongo Flava song has ever travelled.
10. Hodari by Mbosso (2019)
Mbosso relaunched his solo career when he signed to WCB Wasafi in 2018. “Hodari” won Video of the Year at the 2019 HiPipo Music Awards, and his 2022 EP, Khan, was described by Music In Africa as “a beautiful collection of romantic love songs”.
Find these artists and their albums in the AfroYard artist directory.
