Remmy ongala biography template

Remmy Ongala

Tanzanian musician

Musical artist

Ramazani "Remmy" Mtoro Ongala (10 February – 13 December )[1] was a Tanzanian guitarist and singer. Ongala was born in Kindu, in what was the Belgian Congo at the time, and now is the Democratic Republic of the Congo.[2]

A rising musician since the s, Remmy Ongala was part of the soukous scene (also known as "Congolese rumba"). In he travelled to Dar es Salaam where he joined Orchestra Makassy. Later with his own band, Orchestre Super Matimila (named after the businessman who owned the band's instruments),[3] he helped to transmit the soukous style to the Tanzanian musical subculture often called Ubongo, the Swahili word for brain. This in turn contributed to the development of Tanzanian hip-hop, particularly in the city of Dar es Salaam during the s.

The use of his music as a social instrument led him to address concerns in his hometown that entailed social issues including poverty, AIDS/HIV, urbanization and family life. Known as the Sauti ya Mnyonge (voice of the poor man), his fight was strong.[4]

Ubongo is usually perceived by artists and listeners alike as "conscious" music, a style that actively contributes socio-political commentary to the Tanzanian soundscape. Believing in the abolition of racism and social injustice, Ongala infused his lyrics with these messages.[5] His inspiring and sometimes didactic message led him to be nicknamed "Dr Remmy".

Following the end of British colonial rule in , Julius Nyerere preached the value of Ujamaa, or familyhood, as a basic constituent of Tanzanian nationalism, placing an emphasis on equality and justice. This became a recurring theme in many Tanzanian artists' music, including Remmy Ongala's.[6]

His song "Kipenda Roho" was used in Oliver Stone's film, Natural Born Killers.

Ongala died on 13 December at his home in Dar es Salaam.[1] Posthumously, he received the Hall of Fame trophy at the Tanzania Music Awards.[7]

See also

References

  1. ^ ab"Remmy Ongala: Tanzania music fans mourn 'the Doctor'". BBC News. 13 December .
  2. ^"Remmy Ongala, Tanzanian Musical Star, Dies at 63". The New York Times. 18 December Retrieved 18 January
  3. ^"Remmy Ongala". The Telegraph. 28 December
  4. ^Hilhorst, Sean (3 November ). "Remmy Ongala: Capitalist transition and popular music in Tanzania –". Journal of African Cultural Studies. 21 (2). doi/
  5. ^Remmy Ongala Afropop Artist, Afropop Worldwide, archived from the original on , retrieved .
  6. ^Lemelle, Sidney J., "'Ni wapi Tunakwenda': Hip-Hop Culture and the Children of Arusha", in Basu, Dipannita; Lemelle, Sidney J. (eds.), The Vinyl Ain't Final: Hip-Hop and the Globalization of Black Popular Culture, Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto Press, pp.&#;–54.
  7. ^Tanzania Music Awards Official website Retrieved 29 September

Further reading

  • Sophia Thubauville (15 July ). "Remmy Ongala". Ntama Journal of African Music and Popular Culture.
  • Sanga, Imani (). "Postcolonial cosmopolitan Music in Dar es Salaam: Dr. Remmy Ongala and the Traveling Sounds". African Studies Review. 53: 61–76 &#; via Research Gate.

External links