‘Will it ever stop? Yo, I donno
Turn off the lights, n I’ll glow.
To the extreme rock a mike like a vandal
Light up the stage, wax a chump like a candle.’
Vanilla Ice lyrics in ‘Ice, Ice, Baby.’
That was the biggest song in the world in 1990.
And so, in 1991, a Tanzanian rapper called Swaleh Jay, whose specialty was aping American rap music and mixing it in with his cocktail of Swahili sanifu released his own version of ‘Ice, Ice Baby’ in Tanzania, next door.
At the time, a two year old toddler called Naseeb Abdul Juma was still pottering about half naked, and at least 20 years from being the musician called Diamond Platnumz who would perform at the Big Brother Eviction Party in the May of 2012, then thereafter go platinum in Africa.
Diamonds, in street slang, are called ‘ice’ – not only because of their clear, colourless crystals that look like ice cubes, but also because they are cold and draw heat away (as anyone who has ever kissed a diamond will testify).
So Diamond would turn out to be the biggest ‘Ice Baby’ of the East African music industry.
But 10 years after Swaleh Jay’s ‘Ice Baby,’ a chap in the Tanzania music scene would take the name ‘Jay,’ add the learned title ‘Profesa’ in front of it, and release ‘Machozi, Jasho na Damu’ as his first album in 2001.
In English, this would be ‘Blood, Sweat and Tears’ – and the most famous reference is Winston Churchill’s speech to parliament in the May of 1940, when Nazi war came to Britain; and he, as Prime Minister, said he had nothing to offer but ‘blood, toil, sweat and tears’ (towards victory/ triumph over Adolf Hitler).
A contemporary pop reference from this year would be the Korean boy band BTS (Blood, Tears, Sweat) on Billboard, who declare they are ready to throw everything on the line for love, and sacrifice anything to attain worldly success.
‘Baby I don’t care if I get drunk, I’ll drink you/ deep in my throat, a whiskey called YOU …’
These lyrics seem not for an innocuous boy band of Chinkus, but a death rock group like Power Wolf, with their bloody lyrics like: we drink your blood when the midnight sky is red, we drink your blood as we open your veeeiiinnsss …’
But back to Bongo Land (Tanzania) and Bongo Flava (Brain Flavour, as opposed to blood), there is no doubt that one of its pioneers was Profesa Jay, who as a member of the pioneering Hard Blasters in 1994, produced the hit single ‘Chemsha Bongo’ (that led to Bongo Flava in East Africa).
As a solo musician in the 2000s, Prof Jay (Joseph Halule) was hailed for albums like Mapinduzi Halisi (2003) and J.O.S.E.P.H. in 2006, and was named Best Male Artist at the PAM (Pearl of Africa Music awards) in 2007.
This would explain why when Profesa Jay was nominated for the MTV Africa Music Awards (MAMA) in 2008 as best African hip hop artist, he was in gay and confident mood.
But as we – I was among the journalists – flew back that November, (days after Obama’s big presidential win in the USA), from Abuja to Lagos, le Profesa was in a foul mood.
While Wahu Kagwi Mathenge’s ‘Sweet Love’ had been crowned African song of the year at the MAMAs the night before, at a glittering Velodrome Arena in Abuja, Profesa Jay had lost out (to HHP) in his category, and not even been allowed to perform as a curtain raiser to The Game. As a result, he had complained all the way on the airplane from Abuja to Lagos’s Muhhamed Muttalla Airport.
Hangover, and tired of the Tanzanian artist’s endless rant and rave, I loudly told him at MMA.
‘Man, you bitch like a woman. You should change your name to Profesa Gay … ’
‘Wewe wasema nini?’
‘I am saying they should have given you an UMAMA Award last night!’
That was it.
Profesa Jay charged after me through the airport, yelling and threatening to beat me to pulp – but he was as stout and slow as I was thin and fast – and finally, Nameless (David Mathenge) managed to calm the maddened Tanzanian artiste down.
The following year, Profesa Jay did win the 2009 Best Song Writer in Tanzania award.
But it seemed small consolation after being a continental contender. And Profesa seemed to have hang up his mic after fifteen years in the bongo game. Only to resurface six years later, in 2015, as mheshimiwa Joseph Halule, MP of Mikumi.Juma Nature and TMK Wanaume are a much larger story in the scheme of things.
But I have a football crowd that will never forget our ‘Lady Jaydee’ chant of yesteryear –
‘Yahya (Toure) umeishia wapi? Pellegrini anakulipa pesa ngapi? OTHAYA, OTHAYA!!’
