Alikiba with a 2020 banger alongside Hamisa Mobetto

Not even the coronavirus can stop RnB artiste AliKiba from breaking the internet. It is business as usual for the ‘Aje’ hitmaker. This was evident earlier this week when the Bongo Flava heavyweight decided to bless his fans with a new joint titled ‘Dodo’.

It was through his official Instagram account where he made the announcement to his half a million followers that he was about to reveal something ‘huge’. As the clock ticked and hours withered away everyone was in an expectant stance, wondering what the self-titled ‘King of Bongo Flava’ had up his sleeves.

When the time was ripe, a surprise unlike any other was revealed. On any other normal day, this would’ve been a normal surprise, but considering the global situation at the moment the scale and weight associated with Kiba’s reveal was tenfold more profound.

AliKiba premiered the audio and video of his new song ‘Dodo’. Dodo, a song which has come at just the right time as people are indoor looking for anything to excite their days is in-line with the same trend of great melody and soothing words to boot that have become Alikiba’s trademark. With a masterly of words that go in tandem with melodious beats, Dodo might yet become another Kiba smash-hit.

That is not all that Alikiba had in his bag of presents. What most people didn’t expect, was to see former model turned musician Hamisa Mobetto appear as a vixen in the music video which took a leaf of inspiration from ancient Egyptian style. The theme, style and video execution was akin to the Egyptian Kings and Queens.

The music video was shot in Zanzibar and Alikiba extended his appreciation to the Ministry of Information, Tourism and Heritage in Zanzibar, hotel Verde Zanzibar and the management of Mji Mkongwe Zanzibar.

The video got mixed reviews from fans, with some praising AliKiba’s vocal ability which more often carries the weight of his songs, whereas others expressed a bit of dissatisfaction, more directly towards the groove of the song.

What was also a point of discussion, is AliKiba’s decision to use Mobetto as the video vixen, considering the fact that she is Diamond Platnumz’ baby mama. This is of particular interest since AliKiba and Diamond are longtime foes in the music industry. Some found that decision to be in bad taste, but others perceived it more like a chess move which has given AliKiba the upper hand by making his song the talk of the town by the sheer fact of having someone like Mobetto associated to the song.

Dodo amassed over one million views in the first 24 hours of its release on YouTube and close to 10,000 comments. Fans from Tanzania and beyond shared their sentiments on YouTube.

“People are wicked, why dislike such a masterpiece,” said one fan named Ombeni Nusra. Abdi Noor said “When u think he is done, He comes up with something even more special. Salute brother Kiba.”

Those who don’t understand Kiswahili asked the artiste to consider putting subtitles to his songs so that they get to enjoy not just the melody but to understand the words as well. Just as this person shared; “I just wish you put subtitles so that even us who don’t understand Kiswahili can get to know the meaning of the songs....Otherwise love your music esp AJE.”

But not all comments were positive as was seen from a few posted on the thread. One person commented by saying “Your last song was “Seduce Me”” meaning the Bongo Flava artiste is yet to release anther good song since the 2017 hit-song.

The engagement in the comment section, which is a reflection of what the audience thinks about the song was so energetic. Even though a few fans were going at it back and forth it just showed the level of impact that the song has amongst fans.

Now that it’s a battle for digital supremacy, online numbers are being closely monitored to see who the top dog is.

Kiba’s new release has managed to attract the right kind of attention. Upon its release Dodo quickly rose to number one on the trending list and by the time of penning down this article, it was still atop the YouTube trending chart in Tanzania.

This is Kiba’s first release of the year and some fans pleaded with him to deviate from his usual path of releasing one or two songs in an entire calendar year. Whether or not he’ll heed to their pleas remains to be seen. For now fans can just enjoy his latest release indoors.