Rajab Abdul Kahali, also known by his stage name Harmonize, is a

Tanzanian Demographic features of the population of Tanzania include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population. The population distribution in Tan ...

singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He first emerged on the national music scene in 2015 with the release of his debut single ''Aiyola'' after signing with

WCB Wasafi Wasafi Classic Baby (WCB) is a Tanzania-based record label founded by musician Diamond Platnumz. WCB's commercial roster includes Diamond Platnumz, Mbosso, Zuchu, Lava Lava, Queen Darleen, and ''D Voice.'' The label is headquartered at Mb ...

, the label founded by

Diamond Platnumz Naseeb Abdul Juma Issack, professionally known as Diamond Platnumz, is a Tanzanian bongo flava recording artist, dancer, philanthropist and businessman. He is the founder and CEO of WCB Wasafi Record Label, Wasafi Bet and Wasafi Media. Diamo ...

. Following his departure from

in 2019, Harmonize established his own record label, Konde Music Worldwide, under which he has released several projects spanning genres such as Bongo Flava, Afropop, and Afrobeats. Throughout his career, Harmonize has worked with many other African musicians, including

Burna Boy Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu (born 2 July 1991), known professionally as Burna Boy, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and record producer. He gained recognition in 2012 after releasing "Like to Party", the lead single from his debut studio album '' ...

Yemi Alade Yemi Eberechi Alade (born 13 March 1989), known professionally as Yemi Alade, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, actress and activist from the Akoko part of Ondo State. Her music is a mixture of Afropop, highlife, dancehall, pop music, pop and Rh ...

Ruger Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc., better known by the shortened name Ruger, is an American firearm manufacturing company based in Southport, Connecticut, with production facilities also in Newport, New Hampshire; Mayodan, North Carolina; and ...

, Sarkodie and

Naira Marley Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper. Education At the age of 11, Fashola moved to Peckham, South London, England. He graduated with a distinctio ...

Early life

Harmonize has been living in

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

since completing secondary school education in 2009. He released his debut song, "Aiyola", in 2015. Other songs include "Kwa Ngwaru", featuring

, and "Show Me," featuring

Rich Mavoko Richard Martin Lusinga (born 26 October 1990), known professionally as Rich Mavoko, is a Tanzanian singer and songwriter. He was initially signed to 'King Kaka Records' in 2016, a record label founded by Kenyan rapper King Kaka, and later to W ...

. In 2017, MTV Base (African TV channel) included him in their African edition of "Ones to Watch for 2017". He was the first artist to sign a recording contract with the

label and has since founded his own record label, Konde Music Worldwide.

Career

He started his music career in 2011. In 2015, he met

and signed with

. His first song, "Aiyola" was commercially successful. He won three awards from WatsUp TV, AFRIMMA, and AEA USA (in the US). On 25 February 2019, he released "Afro Bongo", his first EP, which featured

, Mr. Eazi and

. "Afro Bongo" has four tracks, including "Kainama". "Kainama's" music video received more than 14 million views in 12 months. Harmonize left

at the end of 2019 and released several projects, including "The Return of Q Chillah". Harmonize released four commercial singles, including "Hainistui" and "Uno," both produced by East African hit-makers Hunter Nation and "Bonga". Harmonize released his first studio album with 18 tracks, titled ''Afro East,'' on 14 March 2020. The work infuses

Afropop African popular music (also styled Afropop, Afro-pop, Afro pop or African pop) can be defined as any African music, regardless of genre, that uses Western pop musical instruments, such as the guitar, piano, trumpet, etc.Olabode, O. (2023, J ...

with

Singeli Singeli or sometimes called Sengeli is a Tanzanian music genre that originated with the Zaramo in the Mtogole neighborhood of the Tandale ward in Kinondoni District of Dar es Salaam Region around the mid-2000s. The genre has since the late 201 ...

and Bongo Flava. The album included the single "Bedroom," produced by Hunter Nation. ''Afro East'' is his first project since leaving

's record label and features

, Lady Jay Dee,

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Mr Eazi Oluwatosin Oluwole Ajibade (born 19 July 1991), better known by his stage name Mr Eazi, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is the pioneer of Banku music, a fusion of sound he describes as a mixture of Ghanaian highlife a ...

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Khaligraph Jones Brian Ouko Omollo (born 12 June 1990), known by his stage name Khaligraph Jones, is a Kenyan rapper known for his singles "Mazishi" and "Yego". He released his debut full-length studio album ''Testimony 1990'' in June 2018. Jones has received nu ...

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, DJ Seven, Mr Blue, Prince Fahim, and several others. On 5 November 2021,

Harmonize In music, harmonization is the chordal accompaniment to a line or melody: "Using chords and melodies together, making harmony by stacking scale tones as triads". A harmonized scale can be created by using each note of a musical scale as a ro ...

released his sophomore album, titled ''High School''. The track list was revealed on the artist's

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

page while he was on his 2021 American tour. The album was his first LP since ''Afro-East''. The project was preceded by the previously released

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hits "Sandakalawe and "Teacher". The first song on the album, "Sorry", was partly performed during a virtual concert by the artist held prior to the album's release. The album had twenty songs, and only two had been heard before ("Sandakalawe" and "Teacher"). The album featured several prominent

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n acts, including

, Sarkodie,

Busiswa Busiswa Gqulu (born 8 November 1988), known mononymously as Busiswa, is a South African singer-songwriter and poet. Born in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, South Africa, she gained public recognition for her feature on DJ Zinhle's song, "My Name Is", ...

as well as labelmates Ibraah and Anjella. Also featured was the

singer Sholo Mwamba. It marked a departure from the feature-heavy Afro-East as it had fewer features, with most songs helmed by

alone. On 28 October 2022, Harmonize released his third studio album, titled ''Made for Us''. The 14-track album featured

Spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

, Ntoshi Gazi, Abby Chams, and

Bruce Melodie Itahiwacu Bruce (born 3 March 1992), commonly known as Bruce Melodie aka Munyakazi, is a Rwandan singer and a winner of Primus Guma Guma Super Star seasons 8 (PGGSS). He is the Founder of Igitangaza Music record Label. Bruce is also a brand amba ...

. A few days before the album was released, Harmonize announced on his Instagram that he would not promote the album because he had "done everything in the studio". The album was critically acclaimed. Music in Africa's Charles Maganga dubbed the album the most personal album by Harmonize to date. On 24 November 2023 Harmonize released his fourth studio album titled Visit Bongo, which was named by

Notjustok NotjustOk is an African media and entertainment company, known for housing an online music and entertainment website ''NotJustOk'', a music streaming service Mino Music (previously known as MyNotjustOk), and a music distribution and publishing se ...

as the best Tanzanian album of 2023 On 30 January 2024 Harmonize released his single I Made It, which feature American rapper

Bobby Shmurda Ackquille Jean Pollard (born August 4, 1994), known professionally as Bobby Shmurda, is an American rapper. Along with Rowdy Rebel, Shmurda is considered a pioneer of Brooklyn drill music. He rose to international fame in 2014 when his single, ...

and Kenyan singer Bien. After leaving

, Harmonize started his own record label, Konde Music Worldwide, (also known as Konde Gang) and signed different artists such as Ibraah, Country Wizzy, Anjella, Killy and Cheedy all of which have left the label with the exception of Ibraah.

Discography

"Paranawe" Ft. Rayvanny (2018) "Show Me What You Got" Ft Yemi Alade (2018) "Kushoto Kulia" (2019) "Anajikosha" (2021) EP Afro Bongo Studio Albums • ''Afro East'' (2020) • High School (2021)

Awards and nominations

, - , rowspan="3", 2016 , Bado ft.

, WatsUp TV Africa Music Video Awards for Best African Newcomer Video , , - , rowspan="2", Himself , African Muzik Magazine Awards (AFRIMMA) for Best Newcomer , , - , African Entertainment Awards (AEAUSA) for Best New Artist ,

References

External links

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Bongo XXL
{{Authority control Living people Tanzanian musicians People from Mtwara Region Tanzanian Muslims Swahili-language singers of Tanzania 21st-century Tanzanian male singers Tanzanian hip-hop musicians Tanzanian Bongo Flava musicians