2014 was of glitter and success stories

Curtains will finally roll down on 2014, in five days time and this shall be our last issue of the Beat Magazine as we usher in 2015.

To some it will be a big sigh of relief to see the year end whereas to others it is business as usual.

 The last 12 months will, however, go down as the most hilarious in Tanzania’s artistic and entertainment industry filled with drama, love, controversy and some defining moments.

Many interesting things made the entertainment industry such an interesting place to be, from the court cases, the music scene, movies and even the gossip of who was involved in which projects.

In this last issue of The Beat in 2014 we in retrospect take a look at some of the events that made headlines in the country and beyond.

Diamond shines bright

There are many things that happened in the music industry that in many ways explains the direction where the industry is heading.

From the multiple collaborations with Nigerian artistes to a seminar which was sponsored by His Excellency President Jakaya Kikwete, it was heart throbbing all through the year.

But as we celebrate all the success, one figure stood out and that was Bongo Flava artiste Diamond Platinumz.

Having released several hits that have become club bangers on the continent, Diamond’s year started off on quite a high note, first, was the historic win that saw him in a trophy haul at the Kilimanjaro awards night.

It was the first time in history that an artiste had taken home six gongs ever since the awards were established 14 years ago.

He was to light up the industry with his second nomination at the MTV Africa Music Awards.

Though he came home empty handed the ‘Number One’ hit maker was later to show Africa that he was destined for greatness.

First came the Afrima awards and his full evolution was to be completed with the treble win at the Channel O Music Videos Award in Johannesburg in November.

With his recent efforts in ‘Mdogo Mdogo’ and ‘Nitampata Wapi’, it won’t be a surprise if the same happened next year.

As the sages say, controversy is an essential part of showbiz; Diamond was never short of this essential ingredient as he kept tongues wagging with the much rumoured Zari-Diamond project.

Not much is known exactly what this project that involves the self-styled ‘Boss lady’ is all about, but from the look of things it is getting very cryptic.

Gauging by the events at the award night in Johannesburg and the hotel room selfie in Kampala there is every reason to believe that this project has finally gone full circle.

The Lilanga Week

The Lilanga art week which took place between September 20 and 27 was important and exciting for a number of reasons.

In a country where this form of art does not stir as much emotions as the other forms this was definitely a hit of its kind.

It was the first time the heritage of Nyumba ya Sanaa was put on the map as contribution to African art and world modern art in general.

 The beloved and sorely missed House of Art nurtured not only the world famous George Lilanga, but was home to a whole generation of artists that made a brilliant transition from traditional art to modern expression.

The week honoured artists from the first generation of great Tanzanian painters and sculptors, represented by Chorinda and Augustin Malaba and reminded the whole world of the great artistic tradition born out of the first post-independence generation of artists.

Second, the Lilanga Week broke new ground in another sphere: it was the first example of successful and visionary corporate philanthropy of that scale in Tanzania.   The week was sponsored by BG Tanzania. While social corporate responsibility has made a great difference in the lives of disadvantaged Tanzanians, cultural philanthropy has been slow in coming.

At the same time, as testified by the development of such world famous art centres as Metropolitan Museum in New York and National Gallery in Washington, corporate visionaries are key in bringing big art into public sphere.

There is every reason to look at 2015 with a renewed sense of hope!

Sitti and Miss Tanzania throne

Miss Tanzania as an institution was a very troubled place in 2014. Nothing seemed to be going right, a fight here, a court case there and even allegations of an over-age beauty queen who did not meet the prescribed criteria! In fact her story could have easily been comparable to the Tegeta Escrow scandal, everyone had a version

Sitti’s win became one of the most contested victories in the history of this beauty pageant. The issue at hand was not her suitability in terms of aesthetical qualities; instead, it was her age that caused a stir in both main stream and other media.

She was accused of several things but on top of the allegations was the age altering claim and another that she was actually a mother.

She was labelled all sorts of names as copies of what appeared to be her passport, travel history and even pictures of her at a certain church casting away the demons made rounds on the social media.

Bongo movies failure in Lagos

African films have evolved in the last decade or so to the extent that an academy awards night has been introduced. Some have actually christened it the Oscars of Africa.

Nigeria’s Nollywood is the most notable in this arena as those akin to their issues say it is only Hollywood and Bollywood that beat them in terms of volumes.

On the awards table the contest became much of Nigeria, Ghana and Kenyan affair as Tanzania failed to register a single win at the second edition of Africa’s most prestigious awards ceremony.  This was despite having had over eight nominations.

The quality of the films, especially the story line was still lacking in many ways though we are convinced that we are the second best after Nigeria.

BSS and TPF

Reality talent search shows have become such a common thing as they have changed lives of so many young people with some of the current crop of artistes owing their discovery to these shows.

With eight seasons under their belts the events at both Bongo Star Search and Tusker Project Fame took a turn towards oblivion as none of them was held.

Though the producers of BSS, Benchmark were quick to state that they took a break in order to remodel the show, Endemol, the South African based production house has remained tight lipped over the future of TPF.

This has raised a lot of questions in both the mainstream and alternative media with many questioning the rationale behind all that.

Comedy

Stand-up comedy has never been considered as a serious genre especially in Tanzania where the comedians are struggling despite a consensus that there is genuine talent.

The past year saw a change that will surely take the industry to the next level with Evans Bukuku’s Vuvuzela crew taking charge in the renaissance of the industry.

The year saw Ugandan comedian Anne Kansiime, Kenya’s Eric Omondi and Basket Mouth from Nigeria all grace the stage with their rib-breaking antics.

The audience must have told a story, one that will indeed inspire the up and coming comedians.

The Serengeti Fiesta

The annual countrywide gig returned with an expanded edition that was to include 18 regions with Bukoba, Songea and Kahama getting the feel of the extravaganza.

The 13th season of a party trail that draws the attention of the youth kicked off with the first gig of the season in Mwanza.

The festival which comes with different themes every year has been christened ‘Sambaza Upendo’ (Spread Love).

The season climaxed with the grand finale in Dar es Salaam at the Leaders’ Club with performance of an array of international stars who were led by US rapper TI.

Idris’ BBA win

The BBA season 9 returned this time slightly later than usual with Tanzania being represented by Idris and Laveda.

Nine weeks later Idris Sultan (21) who joined the Big Brother Africa Hotshots as nothing but a mere photographer with I-View Studios became the latest millionaire in Tanzania.

Idris saw off the challenge of 25 other housemates through 9 weeks of extravaganzas, weekly tasks, ‘freeze’ challenges and even an epic prank in true Big Brother style.

With that win Idris became the second Tanzanian and East African to win the award that has in a recent past been dominated by Nigeria.

Ali Kiba returns

After over three years of inactivity, singer Ali Kiba returned on the scene with a hot single ‘Mwana’ which has shown the musical prowess that he is.

His return has however, been mired in some controversy as he traded beef with Diamond but even then he continues to record sell out concerts.

His adoring fans eagerly await what he is likely to come up with in 2015 given how tight the competition has become in the industry.