Ten observations on Bongo Flava - ten years after

Although we tend to think of musical genres like hiplife, kwaito and bongo flava as the music of a new generation, many of them have existed for the past decade or so. Tanzanian bongo flava, once heralded as a localized version of hip hop, has ten years to its name. Around 2001 people started using the term 'bongo flava' after the radio show by that name playing local hip hop. The genre's trademark sound was pioneered by artists like Juma Nature, Gangwe Mobb and Dully Sykes. Their hits inspired countless one-day hit wonders, aided by a handful of producers, a limited set of keyboard presets and the urge to receive airplay and commercial recognition. In the five years after 2001, bongo flava developed into a genre with a distinct feel and a popularity beyond just Tanzanian youth - all of East Africa up to DR Congo and Rwanda now knows who Ali Kiba is.

After all these years there's still criticism: many artists are copy cats whose only concern is immediate commercial recognition, their lyrics are shallow and glorify greed, and so on. So, is bongo flava on the brink of extinction or is there still room for innovation? Let's have a look at the new video by Diamond, one of a new breed of bongo flava artists whose popularity has risen fast in the past two years.