Salmin Ismail Hoza, professionally known by his stage name Kusah, is a Tanzanian musician, singer and songwriter. He started getting attention as a songwriter but later rose to stardom after releasing songs such as Kelele, No Time, I Don't Care and I Wish which made him a household name in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

Early life

Salmin Ismail was born in Bumbuli, Lushoto Tanga. As a child, Kusah became interested in music and entertainment where he used to sing in gatherings and even penned their school's anthem. After finishing high school Kusah landed in Dar es Salaam where he resided at his grandfather's house but later moved out of his grandfather's house to focus on his music career. As a singer, Kusah is usually described as a Bongo Flava artist, who also sometimes explores other genres like

Afrobeats Afrobeats, not to be confused with Afrobeat or Afroswing, is an umbrella term to describe popular music from West Africa and the diaspora that initially developed in Ghana, Nigeria, and the UK in the 2000s and 2010s. Afrobeats is less of a st ...

and

Afro-Pop 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 ...

. In 2022, Kusah was featured by the legendary and one of the founders of the Bongo Fleva genre

Dully Sykes Dully Sykes (born Abdul Sykes on 4 December 1980) is a Tanzanian Bongo Flava musician, songwriter, record producer and composer. Biography Also known as Mr Misifa or Mr Chicks, Dully Sykes is a bongo flava artist from Tanzania, the grandson ...

, in a song title
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Career

Before his big break in the Tanzanian music industry, Kusah was a ghostwriter as he used to write songs for major A-List artists in Tanzania such as

Ali Kiba Ali Saleh Kiba (born 29 November 1986), best known as Ali Kiba or occasionally as King Kiba, is a Tanzanian musician and songwriter. He is one of the most talented musicians in East Africa and mostly considered the King of Bongo Flava music Ge ...

, Nandy,

Ben Pol Benard Michael Paul Mnyang'anga, better known by his stage name Ben Pol, is a Tanzanian singer and songwriter from Dar es Salaam, Dar es salaam, Tanzania. On January 5, 2024, Ben Pol released his highly anticipated third album 'Flamingo', which Si ...

, Ruby, Hamisa Mobeto and many others. Kusah became a household name after releasing Kelele featuring Ruby in 2018 and from there he released many successful singles such a
I Don't Care
Nibebe, Mama Lao and I Wish which have amassed over 10 million streams on

Boomplay Boomplay, or Boomplay Music, is an Africa-focused media streaming and download service. Developed by Transsnet Music Limited, the platform was first launched in Nigeria in 2015 by TECNO Mobile, Transsion Holdings. Boomplay has a freemium and subs ...

. In September 2022, Kusah released his first project titled, Romantic EP featuring Nigeria's

Johnny Drille 'Johnny Drille (born John Ighodaro; 5 July 1990) is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and music producer. He rose to prominence in 2015 after releasing a cover of Di’Ja’s song "Awww", which attracted the attention of Don Jazzy, the founder of M ...

and Kenya's Femi One. The project was critically acclaimed with Notjustok describing the EP as "Kusah's way of proving that he is the next Bongo Fleva Biggest Music Export." In 2022 he was nominated in The Tanzanian Music Awards as The Best Upcoming Artist and in the same year, he was ranked by various publications as one of the best upcoming artists in Tanzania 2022.

Personal life

Kusah is dating Tanzanian Bongo Movie Actress Known, as Aunty Ezekiel and the two are blessed with 2 kids. Their relationship is public and is usually a hot topic in the Tanzanian media.

Discography

*I Wish *Blessings *Nimepatikana *Rafiki *Wenyewe *Mungu tu *Napendwa *I Don't Care *Karibu *Kelele *Utaniua *Te Amo *Tamu *On Fire *No Time *Huba

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kusah Living people Tanzanian musicians Swahili-language singers of Tanzania Tanzanian Bongo Flava musicians 21st-century Tanzanian male singers Year of birth missing (living people)