Vanessa and Jux blend Money with Love

Dar es Salaam. They say money can’t buy us love for love is like religion, it cannot be bought nor negotiated, however there is confirmation that the two can mix.

Vanessa Mdee and her beau this weekend start their music tour of Tanzania which will take them to five regional towns and cities with the first gig taking place in Mwanza.

Their fans love seeing them together, to most of them the rumour that the two had separated sometime last year was a huge disappointment and so it was a good news to the fans when the couple got back together.

The tour christened ‘In Love and Money’ which comes quite on the heels of the release of Money Mondays album takes the celebrity couple to heights that many Bongo Flava artistes can only dream about.

The tour comes at a time when there are very few live gigs taking place in the country despite having high profile artistes that continue to rock the continent.

The concerts are set to bring the two sets of fans together given the fact that they enjoy a huge following individually across the country and beyond.

So far no details have been let out on the production team but behind the scenes there is a clear confirmation that everything is going according to the laid down plan.

According to Vanessa this is going to be their litmus test, one they have to pass with flying colours given the arrangement and preparations that they have put into the organisation.

“We shall be performing together, the main objective of this tour is to connect with our fans who are spread across the country with performances that will leave them with great memories for years to come,” says the self styled Cash Madame.

Jux will use the opportunity to familiarize his fans with new songs from his upcoming debut album ‘The Love album’.

The two have previously worked on a single titled ‘Juu’ which gained massive airplay both on local radio stations and outside East Africa.

Juu which is a feel good love song about riding with your partner to the top; which has been the case for these lovebirds both being forces in their own right.

They won’t be all on their own though with Mimi Mars and Brian Simba both signed on Vanessa’s label getting on the bus for this maiden tour. Others include Weusi as well as artistes from the Lake Zone.

Unlike Jux who started off as a musician almost 13 years ago, Vanessa’s meteoric rise from a radio presenter and MTV VJ is one that has left many in awe.

First introduced to the Tanzanian fan base with a collaboration with Ommy Dimpoz ‘Me and U’ which went on to win the Song of The Year in 2013 KTMA, Vanessa has become one of Tanzania biggest musical stars both locally and across Africa.

Her first solo project ‘Closer’, was testimony that a new songstress has been born with over 30000 downloads in the first week after its release a feat that not many Tanzanian artistes had achieved at that time.

The song also managed to remain on the charts for over 13 weeks, becoming a breath of fresh air in a male dominated industry.

In June 2014 she released her third single “Hawajui” was produced by Nahreel rocking the charts and the radio/TV air waves.

In the same year she joined forces with Barnaba Elias to release their up tempo Afro Pop duet ‘Siri’ which became an instant sensation across East Africa.

On 26 March 2015, Vanessa Mdee released her fifth single Nobody But Me featuring South African rapper KO toping both TV and radio on Africa 10 on Trace Urban, Urban Hit 30 (Trace Nigeria), Africa Top 10 on The Beat 99.9 FM (Nigeria), Top 10 Africa on Sound City TV (Nigeria), Jam Top 5 on Radio City FM (Uganda), Africa Boom Boxx on YFM (South Africa), DNA Top 5 on BBC 1xtra (UK).

According to her most of her collaborations are very organic for in most cases works with like minds on her projects.

“I love to work with people who flow with me from the idea stage all the way to the development of the song,” she told the Beat in a recent interview.

Her participation in Coke studio for two consecutive seasons where she paired with some of Africa’s greatest artistes was further testimony that she had grown into a continental power.

This was followed by debut acting role on MTV Shuga season 5 as part of the leading cast alongside Nick Mutuma Thuso Mbedu, Mohau Mokoatle Cele, Jezriel Skei, Emmanuel Ifeanyi and Adesua Etomi was another success story.

Vanessa has won several awards domestically and released her debut album dubbed ‘Money Mondays’ on 15th January 2018 at a time when many artistes saw it as a risk to undertake such projects.

“Money Mondays is all about evolution of self, the betterment of self as you know I have come from being a radio personality to a singer to an actress. It is a testimony that you can always start again,” she says.

Jux on the other hand rose to the limelight with his first solo track ‘Nimedata’ which surprisingly did better than expected introducing him to the game where he has managed to dominate the RnB scene in Tanzania by dropping hit after hit.

Over the years Jux has not only established himself as an RnB crooner but also a style Icon in the music industry with his fine sense of fashion and swag.

Currently he is the CEO and Creative Director of East Africa’s most popular independently owned clothing brand ‘African Boy‘.

As the two love birds set off for a conquest, they will have so much to prove to so many, first that love and work can mix to achieve such desirable results, secondly, they are probably what Tanzania has been waiting for.