Mzungu Kichaa at MOSHITO 2014 to perform and to represent DOADOA, The East African Performing Arts Market

 Mzungu Kichaa will be performing at the opening of the South African music trade fair MOSHITO in Johannesburg Tonight (4th of September at 21.30). This marks the artists first first performance in South Africa.

Mzungu Kichaa is originally from Denmark but grew up in Zambia and Tanzania where he currently has his base. Mzungu Kichaa will stay on for the duration of the Moshito Music Conference to represent DOADOA, an East African Performing Arts convention that provides a platform for professional networking and joint learning of music stakeholders within East Africa. – www.doadoa.org

“I am very happy to finally be making this move, as I have had an ambition to visit South Africa for a long time now. I grew up in Zambia and recently performed at a festival in Zimbabwe so it was a “natural-next-step” for me to come to South Afirca”.

“I will also be representing the East African Performing Arts Market DOADOA at Moshito. I am very proud to be on their steering committee as a representative from the music industry in Tanzania, and to be part of supporting and promoting East African music beyond its borders.

I am hoping that this visit will open new opportunities for our music in Tanzania but also for other East African countries including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi.” Mzungu Kichaa was born in Denmark in 1980 and moved to Africa with his family in 1986. His name, which means the Crazy White Man in Swahili, was given to him by Juma Nature, one of the greatest rappers from Tanzania.

During his work at Bongo Records in the late 90s he played an instrumental role in creating the genre Bongo Flava, which is now one of the most popular genres in the region. With the release of 'Mambo ya pwani', a collaboration he did with Solo Thang, Mzungu Kichaa topped the East African charts for the first time in 1999.

After finishing school in Tanzania in the year 2000, he moved to London to study Ethnomusicology and Social Anthropology where he met with Remmy Ongala’s lead guitarist Kawele Mutimwana who became his mentor and invited him to join his Congolese group who frequented most of the African clubs in London.

In 2005 he moved back to Denmark where he joined the reggae scene and established the group Effigong. After a busy period performing with this eclectic group he decided to go solo in 2009 and started recording and performing under the name Mzungu Kichaa.

Mzungu Kichaa’s debut album “Tuko Pamoja” was released internationally in 2009 on his own label Caravan Records. The release saw him win Best Upcoming Artist at the African Achievement Awards, and a nomination at the Danish Music Awards as well as performances at Sauti za Busara, Rift Valley Festival and Copenhagen Jazz Festival.

The release, which is in Swahili was intended for the East African market, but saw significant following in Europe and USA. Since the release, Mzungu Kichaa has done three tours in Africa and 6 tours in Scandinavia. His band is made up of musicians from Tanzania that have been performing with him since 2009.

In 2010, Mzungu Kichaa was asked to join the team of judges for the Tanzanian version of X Factor, Bongo Star Search. This elevated his status in Tanzania and created a stir in the international media. In 2011 Mzungu Kichaa worked on a collaboration with Dutch international remix DJ Born To Funk. This resulted in a single, which was signed to the Belgian house label Extended Music operating under Sony and soon became his second biggest hit after “Jitolee” ft. Professor Jay.

His EP Hustle, released on the 12.12.12. features Kenyan singer Dela on the song African Hustle and the upbeat Bongo Records production, Twende Kazi. His latest EP Relax, features Karen Mukupa and Juma Nature and provides a good introduction to where Mzungu Kichaa is heading with his music today.