PRESS RELEASE

For publication: 28^th January 2022

Performers not to miss at Sauti za Busara 2022

Sauti za Busara has in the past two decades has had a long and impressive track-record of showcasing some of Africa’s finest musical talents at its annual festival, which has been running since 2004.

This year’s edition themed ‘Paza Sauti: Amplifying Women’s Voices’, will take place in Stone Town, Zanzibar during 11 – 13 February. With more than twenty music groups from across the Continent slated to participate, here are some you should certainly not miss:

Sampa The Great is one of Africa’s greatest hiphop artists. She weaves lyrical mazes with her thought provoking verses, drawing listeners into a lush, imaginative world. Her music bonds from spoken-word to rap, with stops at psychedelic and blues along the way; it’s the sound of an adventurous young mind pushing against all boundaries. Sampa’s rise has been spectacular. After releasing two mixtapes, The Great Mixtape (2015) and Birds and the BEE9 (2017), the Zambian-born, Botswana-raised artist shared her debut album ‘The Return’ in 2019, to critical acclaim across the world.

Vitali Maembe is a well-respected Tanzanian artist, guitar player and singer-songwriter, known for his original music that is universal yet distinctly Tanzanian. His music combines inland and coastal rhythms, with poetic and provocative lyrics. As for his music involvement, Vitali Maembe's focus is on awakening society, with lyrics calling corrupt leaders to account and provoking discussions to lead people to find their own solutions to pressing issues of the day.

Msaki has always had a knack for voicing our inner fears, hopes and desires. She is a singer-songwriter-producer-curator and one of South Africa’s most unique and exciting talents. She is equally at home in acoustic settings as well as on chart-topping bangers by the globally revered South African house music fraternity – from Mobi Dixon to Revolution, Black Coffee, Black Motion, and Prince Kaybee, with whom she created “Fetch Your Life”.

Wamwiduka Band is a traditional music group from Mbeya, Tanzania. Founded in 2012, the ensemble is comprised of Brown Isaya (lead vocalist), Adriano Wilson (lead guitarist and Banjo player), Zakaria Michael (singer and percussionist) and Peter Mashaka (bass and babatoni). A huge hit at Sauti za Busara 2019, the band is now popular across East Africa, where they perform regularly in public spaces such as bus stations, markets and bars.

Ben Pol is a leading Tanzanian artist and a fast-rising talent on the African music scene. His live performance skills combine top-notch vocal artistry with great stage presence and make his shows highly sought-after. An award-winning singer and songwriter and a gifted vocalist with a unique style of R&B, Ben Pol’s productions keep gracing the top of the radio charts. He has many major hit singles under his belt, including ‘Nikikupata’, ‘Number One Fan’, ‘Samboira’, ‘Maneno’, ‘Moyo Mashine’, ‘Pete’ ‘Jikubali’, ‘Wapo’, ‘Kidani’ and ‘Sikukuu’.  

Seif Mwinyijuma Haji, more popularly known as Sholo Mwamba, is a multi-award winning artist from Dar es Salaam and one of Tanzania’s greatest singeli pioneers. He was first inspired whilst accompanying by his late grandfather, who used to lead a Wazaramo traditional ngoma group. In the meantime, whilst expanding its reach to dominate dance floors across the region, Tanzanian singeli music has moved on from social outcast status to being a source of national pride.

The magical open-air location of the main stage inside the Old Fort inspires artists performing at Sauti za Busara to give their very best. Other highlights at the forthcoming festival include Siti & The Band from Zanzibar, playing original taarab-pop fusion with conscious messages; the award-winning Sjava, who is among a wave of artists creatively fusing hiphop and R&B with indigenous sounds from Kwa Zulu Natal; Suzan Kerunen, a contemporary singer-songwriter from Uganda; Fanie Fayar, a singer-songwriter and dancer from Congo Brazzaville whose music combines pop, funk and soul rhythms with traditional instruments; upcoming roots-fusion group Zan Ubuntu (Zanzibar) who promise explosive energy on stage … and many more!

Special prices are offered for all Tanzanians attending the event, at 6,000/- TSh per day or 16,000/- Tsh for an all-festival 3-day pass.

The 19^th Sauti za Busara festival, 11 - 13 February 2022 is powered by the Norwegian Embassy, the European Union, CRDB Bank, Zanlink, Emerson Zanzibar and more to be confirmed.