Artists

Simba's love of hiphop started in the early '90s, listening to artists like De La Soul, Common and A Tribe called Quest. The art that combines words with rhythm and breakbeats was beginning to impact on this boy's life, and he began rhyming at the age of 13. From read more

Every year, during the week leading up to the festival, Sauti za Busara, in collaboration with the Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA), provides a great opportunity for local and foreign artists to come together, create unique sounds, practice joint, and finally. Performing together as a complete band.

Swahili Encounters 2024 read more

Launched at Zanzibar’s Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA) in 2014 and comprising of DCMA teachers and students, the Taarab - Kidumbak Group was formed to participate in a competition to tour in America. Since then, they participated in three highly acclaimed tours in the summer of 2015. The first read more

Tausi Women’s Taarab presents a revolution in a very traditional genre: Zanzibar’s first all-female taarab orchestra where all the instruments are played by women and accompanied by women singers.

The Tausi Taarab orchestra was formed in 2009 and presents music in the tradition of classical taarab style. Dating back read more

Usambara Sanaa play the traditional music and dance of the Wasambaa called Mdumange. The Mdumange ngoma style is music for happy times. It is played at weddings, harvests, weekends, or public celebrations.

One of the factors that makes this style interesting is its interactive nature, whereby the audience read more

Wahapahapa Band is a group of six musicians from Tanzania looking to boldly take their distinct sound to the rest of the world and offer a taste of the richness of the language and the life experience of the Swahili people.

Wahapahapa means ‘originates from here’ in Swahili.  Their read more