X PLASTAZ 2003 EUROPE TOUR: A REPORT Pic: on stage at Couleur Cafe, Brussels. Belgium, Holland, UK and Sweden in five weeks After a 5-week European tour, X Plastaz are back home in Arusha, Tanzania. Their stay up north in June and July was very successful with ten concerts at big and small stages in Belgium, Holland, England and Sweden, plus a number of tv/radio appearances, press interviews and a studio recording. As a finishing touch, the group also made deals for their album 'Maasai hip hop' to be released and distributed in Europe before the end of this year, and their tracks to appear on compilations by respected music labels. This year, X Plastaz came to Europe on invitation of the Belgian Fondation Jacques Gueux to perform at Couleur Cafe, a big annual festival in Brussels. In addition to a line-up including big names like Jimmy Cliff, Salif Keita and Tony Allen, there was an African rap stage, organized by the Fondation. X Plastaz performed in front of some 3000 people with Rak Tak Squad (Senegal), Godessa (South Africa), Nigga Nation (Ivory Coast) and BMG44 (Senegal). You can read our report with photos from Couleur Cafe here, or visit the Mondomix website for a great 5 minute video report of the X Plastaz concert. Also TV5 (France/Belgium) did an interview with the group which is still to be aired. In the week after Couleur Cafe, X Plastaz performed throughout Belgium accompanied by dj Kid Sundance, Godessa and Senegalese rap group Pee Froiss, as part of the Africalia cultural caravan. Pic: X Plastaz with Godessa, the South African female rap trio and their manager. After Belgium, the six X Plastaz went to Holland which over the years has become their European home base. They stayed in Amsterdam and performed at Live on the Low, a small stage which is an important hangout for seeing live hip hop and r&b performance in Amsterdam. In the studio of dj Precise, a popular Dutch/Ethiopian reggae/dancehall dj, they recorded their final vocals for a new dancehall track. Pic: Steve in Amsterdam riding a bike. X Plastaz in London Next up was London for a concert at the annual Respect Festival, which this year took place in the huge Millennium Dome, a structure originally built for the celebration in the year 2000. X Plastaz performed along with an impressive line-up including Public Enemy, Gregory Isaacs and even Panjabi MC. The event was well publicized on national tv and attracted thousands of people. Kid Sundance, the Dutch producer who recorded most of the vocals for the X Plastaz album and made the beat for their upcoming single, joined the group as their dj at the Millennium Dome. Pic: inside the empty Millennium Dome after the concert, with Mr 2 and Sir Prestige. X Plastaz stayed in Brixton (South London) and in the 10 days they were there, they met with many local artists and people in the industry like Ty, dj Pogo, Breis (Breeze), Mr2 and Sir Prestige. Ty is one of UK's best emcees, and the Nigerian origin rapper is touring with Tony Allen and about to launch his new lp (check out his website). He joined X Plastaz on stage at their last concert in Cargo (the Shrine) on July 26, and hooked up other connections such as an in-store performance for X Plastaz at Real Deal record store. Sir Prestige is a Kenyan origin producer who is working with Tanzania's rap legend Mr2 on the latter's new album. X Plastaz visited the studio, and Dineh recorded her verse for the song 'Watoto wa mitaani' about street kids which will be on Mr2's album (to be released in Tanzania at the end of 2003). Pic: Dineh practicing with Mr 2 in the studio of Sir Prestige, South London. X Plastaz were interviewed by various media, including BBC 1Xtra (to be broadcast this autumn on the African show), Choice FM (London's largest black music station), BEN TV (an African sattelite tv station which is very popular among Nigerians), and by a UK based journalist for Tanzania's popular newspaper Nipashe. Pic: in the studio at Ben TV. The last gig at Cargo was one of the most energetic in the carreer of X Plastaz. Playing at the Shrine, Cargo's monthly Afrobeat night, X Plastaz met with a crowd who were open to hear something different. The good vibe between performers and crowd climaxed in 50 people from the crowd dancing on stage during the last track, the upcoming single 'Msimu kwa msimu' which is a real floorfiller. In the crowd was emcee Ty who joined the group on stage during the encore, because the crowd didn't want to let go. Pic: the last track at the Shrine with a cameo appearance of emcee Ty. What's next After UK, most of the group went home to Tanzania, but Gsann joined Ziggy for a short visit to his home in Sweden. By now everyone is back in Arusha, but work continues. X Plastaz submitted their track 'Aha' (watch the video here) to the Kora Awards, Africa's most prestigious music competition which is organized every year in South Africa. Despite a large number of artists participating, Kora Awards usually receives no or only a few entries from Tanzania. In October we will learn if X Plastaz are among this year's finalists. Meanwhile, the group is waiting for special effects on their upcoming music video 'Msimu kwa msimu' to be finalized. When the work is completed, the single and video will be released in Tanzania. The full album 'Maasai hip hop' also got an international release with the new label Subworld Galaxy, and distributor Indigo records. The track 'Msimu kwa msimu' has been selected for inclusion on an upcoming Rough Guide compilation. Both albums will be released early next year. There are more compilation deals on the way so stay tuned!  Also read the report about the performance at Couleur Cafe  Click here to read older news articles