Track of the Week “Hawajui" by Vanessa Khausa Mdee, Tanzania’s “pop princess”, is already topping download charts on a global scale. The track brings a breath of fresh air to our autumn ears down south.
“Vee Money” (as she’s also known to her fans) may be the East African country's answer to Rihanna (albeit with way more organic charm and sass), but she is far from being content with just making summery pop jams and beautiful music videos for foreigners to oggle. She still finds time for a spot of youth activism, hosts a radio show and is also a popular television presenter, having initially risen to fame as Tanzania’s first ever MTV VJ.
An active participant across the "multi-me" channels of social media, Vee keeps her fans across the planet very much close to her at all times, sharing with them the life and times of a superstar whose star just keeps on rising. To experience what a breathless day in her life is like, follow her on Instagram here.
Back to her music – the multi-award winning singer/songwriter uses her svelte vocal talents to flirt with a range of disparate genres, sometimes as many as three - in one song. It was this kind of rarely seen and heard vocal prowess that possibly earned her the “Best Female Artist – East Africa” at last year’s All Africa Music Awards. Her just-now dropped latest single "Nobody But Me" is a colab with South Africa's very own heavyweight muso/rapper K.O.
Keep an eye, and an ear, on this amazing singular talent who is setting the continent alight, hit by hit and one Instagram post at a time.