Step aside Bongo, our Mombasa stars are back. As Brown Mauzo releases ‘Mawazo’, a hit that features PMVA vixen winner Hasni Shah, Mkala Mwaghesha lists some of the singers who are getting the shine back to the Coast.
Brown Mauzo
Fresh from a media tour in Tanzania, Mombasa’s finest singer is going up the charts with Mawazo, a song about the empty thoughts, of loneliness that fills up the mind after a nasty breakup. The video, which features Pulse Music Video Awards 2018 Vixen of the Year Hasni Shah, is the second release, after Kizunguzungu, a song about the ups and down of love.
“We are at a very good space where the fans are appreciating good, Swahili songs, whether from here or Tanzania. We just need to work hard,” says Brown, who is planning a video shoot soon.
Otile Brown
Officially the head boy of the serenade school, Otile is good at riding rumours and showbiz moves and has released a few songs, including Crush and Kenyan Girl since December 1. Crush, released days to Valentine’s Day is a leading staple of many DJs playlists with fans singing along.
Masauti
After Kiboko illuminated the scene and introduced the crooner to more fans, he released Sare, to bank on the fame he was riding on.
Masauti, who has worked with Tedd Josiah before branching out on his own is articulate, a great songwriter and with the swag needed to win over Pulsers.
Idd Singer
Released this week, Kidonda adds to the portfolio Idd has built in just under three years. The latest artiste to be signed to Big Dreamz, Idd has worked with, among others, Deliah ipupa and Landan Balla.
“I was discovered by Tedd Josiah in 2014 and managed to record a song called Usijali,” he explains. “I then met up with Hourglass 254 and did a few collaborations with Landan Balla. Along the way, I have had my fair share of ups and down, but the challenges push me ahead.”
Ally Mahaba
Ali Omar Mahaba is the latest artiste to sign under Shirko and Amour Beyby. His song, Sina Ujanja, has taken Mombasa by storm.
His mellow voice and the Taarab sound is making him stand apart from the crowd that is Swahili love songs. A novice with only one other song under his belt - a collaboration with Chikuzee - he seems at home, like a veteran in the industry. He is one to watch out for.
Madini Classic
An artiste who was thought to be Tanzanian when he first appeared, Madini has collaborated with Gilad in Pure Love, a sweet song about just that, love.
The boy from Migori has collaborated with Prezzo in Kiberiti and Vivian in Nilivyo.
Kalechi Africana
With Nasubiri in November and now Pore, Kalechi is one of the most consistent upcoming artistes, with almost all his songs in under one year. He sounds like TID, and writes beautiful music.
His viewership on YouTube is quite commendable, all his songs are popular. What’s interesting is that he has not done much collabos with any established artistes.
