Tanzanian beauty Ray C to simmer up Easter festivities

Mar 24, 2005

She is young. She is sassy. She is stiflingly sexy and she is talented

By Sebidde Kiryowa

She is young. She is sassy. She is stiflingly sexy and she is talented. She is Ray C, the hottest Tanzanian music sensation and........ (hold your breath guys) she’s coming to town to perform!

The 24-year-old Taarab/Bongo Flava star famed for such hits as Na Wewe Milele, Mapenzi Wangu, Wani Fetiya Nini jets in on Easter after a show in Nairobi on Saturday.

She will proceed to Speke Resort, Munyonyo, where she will stage a family show for sh10,000. Ray C will then hold a VIP show at Hotel Africana on Monday for sh15,000.

Gates for both shows will be flung open at 10:00am. Opening for the Tanzanian diva will be a multitude of local artistes ranging from Jose Chameleone, Eagles Production, Mariam Ndagire, Omumbejja Sheila Nvannungi, Obsessions, Bobi Wine to Julianna Kanyomozi.
“I just want Ugandans to come and see what I have prepared for them. They have to come and see me on stage. If I tell them, there will be nothing left to see. So, Ugandans Mujje Mbaawe (come and I show you what I’ve got),” she said in a pre-broadcast video interview on 3W.com, a television show, in response to expect.

Named “Best Female Artist of the Year in Uganda and Tanzania” at the 4th Kisima Music Awards in Nairobi, Kenya last year, Ray C’s popularity in the region has been mainly spurred by the advent of East Africa TV, a 24-hour music channel that has given unparalleled coverage to Tanzanian artistes, putting the likes of Ray C on the pedestal.

But Ray C, real name Rehema Chalamila, is not only popular for her sugary voice and catchy mid-tempo Tarab rhythms. The singer, who studied in Kabojja Secondary School for her O’ Level, is a great belly dancer and has a belly ring to draw our attention. She does it so alluringly and with such skill, many say her belly dancing skills have no equal in Tanzania. She also spots a tongue ring and ..... oh, those big dreamy eyes.


Taarab music is a fusion of Swahili tunes sang in rhythmic poem spiced with Arabic or (as in Ray C’s case) Indian melodies and is very popular in Tanzania and the coast of Kenya.

Ray C, a hitherto radio presenter who only starting singing in 2002 after her manger acknowledged she had a great voice, combines Taarab and the current music hitting Tanzania, Bongo Flava. Bongo in Swahili means brain. However, in the contextualised Swahili spoken among the youth in Dar-es-Salaam, it means ‘highly fashionable and urbanised’.

The Flava (flavour) they are giving is the Bongo. Bongo Flava is now synonymous with the music genre dominant in urban Tanzania, which is a hip-hop sound sang mostly in Swahili. In some parts of Tanzania, they call it “glocalised” hip-hop.

Ray C who says ‘love’ is the predominant theme of her music, represents a new generation of Tanzanian artistes, who have added spice to the local music scene.

Demand for their music has spurred the growth of the recording industry in the country.

Before, artistes had to travel to Nairobi in Kenya to record but can now do so in Dar-es-Salaam.

The singer who drives a Toyota Escudo and owns a line of boutiques under the label ‘Ray C’s Choice’ in Dar-es-salaam, says Jose Chameleone (whom she describes as “handsome and has a good voice. He can also dance”) inspires her.
Other idols include Red San (Kenya), Mr Nice (Tanzania) and American rapper Jay Z.

Meanwhile, Jude Katende writes, the romantic eyed beauty is married to Mwisho, a guy she ‘eloped’ with after his Big Brother Africa sojourn.
Speke Resort Munyonyo and Hotel Africana are the main sponsors of this Easter bonanza.

The co-sponsors are WBS television and Sanyu FM.

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