LIVE FOOTAGE: X PLASTAZ AT COULEUR CAFE (2003)
AMSTERDAM, JUNE 2004 - This one has been on the web for a while but you may not have seen it yet: a video by Mondomix showing X Plastaz in concert at Belgium's Couleur Cafe in July 2003. In 2003 the open air festival, which brings together big names like Jimmy Cliff, Salif Keita and Tony Allen with new & innovative acts, had an African hip hop stage where X Plastaz played in front of a crowd of thousands of people (also see our 2003 tour report). They did a freestyle with Belgium's most popular hip hop crew Starflam, which can be seen in the video. AHA VIDEO ON DISPLAY IN TULSA ZOO MAASAI EXHIBITION
AMSTERDAM, JUNE 2004 - The X Plastaz music video of Aha is on permanent display at the newly opened Maasai Village exhibition in Tulsa Zoo in Oklahoma, USA. The exhibition includes a boma (kraal) where Maasai keep their livestock, three huts and shows how the Maasai live with their animals. Aha is displayed on a screen playing in a loop from DVD.
The zoo might sound like an unusual spot for a rap group to show their video but according to the exhibition builders, the images of traditional village life shown in the Aha video in combination with rapping will make the whole thing more interesting to the younger visitors.
The exhibition will be opened on June 12 by Maasai elder Sanguyen Kimani Ole Dorop from Tanzania - check out the zoo's website for details.
If you haven't watched the Aha video yet, go to the Listen/Watch page and make sure you have RealOne player installed.
X PLASTAZ ANNOUNCE INTERNATIONAL ALBUM RELEASE: 23 AUGUST 2004
ARUSHA, MAY 2004 - X Plastaz are set to release their first full-length album 'Maasai hip hop'. On the 23rd of August 2004, the cd will become available through Out|Here records, a new African hip hop label which released the cd of Senegalese female rappers Alif earlier this year. Stay tuned for more details about international distribution.
X PLASTAZ FEATURED ON GLOBAL HIP HOP COMPILATION CD
AMSTERDAM, FEBRUARY 2004 - The X Plastaz track Aha features on the Global Hip Hop compilation cd, released this month by UK based label Manteca.Other artists on the album include Positive Black Soul, Daara J, Delinquent Habits and JJC. While six tracks are from African rap groups, the compilation takes a worlwide perspective by including songs from Mexico, Turkey, Brazil, Lebanon and Greece.
This cd is most likely going to do well, and with a fair price of £6.99 you should just go out and get it (and buy the Rough Guide to African Rap as well).
ROUGH GUIDE RELEASED, CONCERT IN ZANZIBAR
AMSTERDAM, FEBRUARY 2004 - The six rappers/singers of Arusha's rap group X Plastaz this month have picked up where they left off with their 2003 European tour. Their single and music video of 'Msimu kwa msimu' has been followed up by an international compilation release in February this year, and this week they will have their first Tanzanian public performance since 2001 at February's Sauti za Busara festival in Zanzibar.As the liner notes of the Rough Guide say: 'X Plastaz seem set for a healthy international carreer', and certainly the year 2004 will bring more developments in which X Plastaz lift East African hip hop to a next level internationally.
Saturday 14 February 2004: X Plastaz live at Sauti za Busara
Since X Plastaz haven't yet released their debut album 'Maasai hip hop', the Tanzanian audience had to wait for their album launch tour to kick off. Finally on February 14, the lucky inhabitants of Zanzibar town will be able to catch a glimpse of Tanzania's working class idols on stage, as the Maasai hip hop group headlines the second day of Zanzibar's 'Sauti za Busara'. They will rock the stage of Forodhani Gardens, and as the entrance is free of charge the grounds will fill up like 2001 when X Plastaz shaked the Zanzibar Film Festival's hip hop night. This year, X Plastaz will give a full hour show, playing some tracks of their second album as well as hits like 'Nini dhambi kwa mwenye dhiki', 'Ushanta' and 'Aha'. They will be accompanied by special guest, emcee ODB from Arusha.
The three-day festival of Sauti za Busara is one of a handful of international music festivals in East Africa and this will be its first edition. Sauti za Busara is set to become Tanzania's most lively music festival, with other guests including Nyota Ndogo (Kenya), Ghorwane (Mozambique), Bi Kidude (Zanzibar) and African Revolution Band (Tanzania).
Venue: Forodhani Gardens, Stone Town Seafront
Start concert: 9.30 PM (Swahili time: saa tatu na nusu za usiku)
Full program available at Zanzibar.net
'Msimu kwa msimu' featured on Rough Guide to African Rap
In February 2004 the 'Rough Guide to African Rap' cd became available in music stores around the world. The 15-track compilation features the work of two Tanzanian rap groups: X Plastaz and Hard Blasters, as well as other big names in African hip hop such as Kalamashaka (Kenya) and Positive Black Soul (Senegal). The first ever continent-wide rap compilation, it's already started to get positive reviews and playback by radio stations like BBC (a.o. John Peel's show), Billboard and Funkhaus Europa. X Plastaz are featured on the Rough Guide with their track 'Msimu kwa Msimu', a tune that came out in December last year. Energetic raps by all six members over a unique Hindi-style beat produced by dj Kid Sundance from Holland, its video can already be seen on Tanzanian television and on South Africa's Channel O. Read more about the compilation at http://www.worldmusic.net/home/features/af_rap.html
Some early reviews of the Rough Guide to African Rap:
Standout tracks include the hard-hitting beats of "Msimu Kwa Msimu" by X Plastaz (Billboard, USA)
The track here, Msimu Kwa Msimu, is not an example of that, but it is machine music with a rowdy, African spirit. A dark, electronic calliope melody cycles through curtains of Phantom of the Opera organ and strings against a slapping, typical hip-hop beat (Afropop Worldwide, USA)
X Plastaz from Tanzania work in polyrhythms that could give a more by-the-book practitioner an aneurysm (Amazon, USA)
Released by the English label Worldmusic Network, the Rough Guide compilation cd's are among the most succesful compilation series around the world, with at present over 30 different music collections sold under the 'Rough Guide' imprint which is shared with the popular travel guides series by that name. The series' titles include the Rough Guide to Reggae and the Rough Guide to the music of Kenya and Tanzania.
Order the album
You can order the Rough Guide to African Rap through the web from:
MR DEVIOUS
Pic: X Plastaz with Devious (top left) and 2Tall, Skate the Great, Ej von Lyrik of Godessa and producer Bert, Mundial 2001.
AMSTERDAM/CAPE TOWN, FEBRUARY 2004 - At 7.30pm on the 23rd January 2004 , Mario van Rooy a.k.a. Mr. Devious tragically died from fatal stab wounds inflicted by gangsters who wanted to rob his father. He leaves behind two daughers and a pregnant wife. Devious was one of South Africa's most talented rappers, and X Plastaz were blessed to work with him on different occasions such as the Hivhop exchange project in 2001 when Devious came to perform and record with them in Dar es Salaam. They met again that same year at Festival Mundial in Holland where they performed together on stage, and in 2002 at Amsterdam's Tropical Institute where Devious moved the audience to tears with his lyrics written from the perspective of a HIV positive person.
X Plastaz and their management would like to express sincere condolences to Devious' family and friends. His memory will live on...
X PLASTAZ EUROPEAN TOUR DATES 2003
CONCERT DATES JUNE 2003
25 Cafe Extra Large, Brussels, Belgium: Slam
27 Couleur Cafe, Brussels, Belgium (with Godessa from South Africa, Nigga Nation from Ivory Coast and Rak Tak Squad from Senegal) - organized by Fondation Jacques Gueux, also see www.couleurcafe.be
and Lezarts Urbains
28 Liege (Luik), Belgium: Tempo Color festival, together with female rap group Godessa from South Africa (Africalia Caravan - also see www.africalia.be)
CONCERT DATES JULY 2003
3 Africalia festival, Menen, Belgium (with Pee Froiss from Senegal)
8 Live on the Low in Winstong Kingdom, Warmoesstraat, Amsterdam, Holland (with mc Shockwave and live band)
12 Africalia festival, Vilvorde, Belgium (with Pee Froiss from Senegal)
Other dates for the month July (UK, Belgium, Germany) to be announced soon!
NINI DHAMBI: NEW SINGLE
Pic: single cover for Nini Dhambi
AMSTERDAM/ARUSHA, 1st JUNE 2003 - Before flying to Europe (see concert dates for June/July below) on June 24, X Plastaz will launch their new single 'Nini dhambi kwa mwenye dhiki' which is set to conquer the charts in East Africa and beyond. The main vocals were done by Ruff-Nell, and the lyric was written in support of all the poor and destitute people in this world. The haunting chorus asks 'What's the sin of the destitute?'. The other X Plastaz can be heard in the chorus and Yamat's Maasai chants come in towards the end. The track's topic is in line with other songs by X Plastaz which show love for the people from the street, in a time in which many Tanzanian emcees stay away from consciousness, preferring a more comical or party rap style. The beat was produced by dj 360 (Bamba), an internationally acclaimed dj based in Amsterdam who is playing weekly gigs around Europe, and produces for emcees in both Europe and America. The cd-single will be distributed among radio stations in East Africa as well as to selected foreign stations including BBC (1Xtra and Radio 3).
In August, after the return of X Plastaz from their touring, it's time for release number two this year, the single and music video Msimu kwa msimu. Built around a Hindi style beat produced by Kid Sundance, the uptempo rap song features the vocals of all six X Plastaz. The song's message about the ups and downs in life is reflected in a spectacular music video which is the most expensive produced by Tanzanian hiphop artists so far. Recorded by a crew of 20 with Betacam cameras on three different locations in Amsterdam, the clip features spectacular 3d effects, footage from their live performance in a Dutch music hall, while the story involves a Maasai in a limousine, lots of champagne and beautiful girls and a rapping kid on a mountain bike. The video is set for release on tv stations in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, Channel O (South Africa) and MTV, TMF and the Box in Holland. The single is launched simultaneously.
X PLASTAZ CONFIRMED EUROPEAN TOUR 2003
Pic: Steve and Dineh rocking the mic at the Amsterdam Tropical Institute, December 2002.
AMSTERDAM, 19 APRIL 2003 - Several dates of the announced European tour for 2003 have been confirmed. All six X Plastaz will represent at different spots in Belgium on their theird international tour (they are still the only Tanzanian rap group to have travelled abroad for concerts). The venues they will rock include the reknown Couleur Cafe in Brussels where they will play alongside toppers such as Israel Vibration & Roots Radics (Jamaica), Terence Trent d'Arby (USA) and Salif Keita (Mali).
Still to be confirmed are other concerts in July in Belgium, UK and Germany. X Plastaz will be accompanied by dj Kid Sundance (known for doing a 12" with Declaime/Dudley Perkins) on the decks.
There's more big news on X Plastaz to be announced later this month, about their upcoming radio singles in Tanzania, and the full album release in Europe for which they struck a deal with a German label... Stay tuned!
X PLASTAZ TOPPING THE CHARTS
DAR ES SALAAM, FEBRUARY 2003 - X Plastaz are currently receiving much love on the Tanzanian air waves. After the release of their singles 'Aha' and 'Ushanta', the latter has gone on to be number one in popular tv station Channel 10's charts while Aha at the time of writing had reached up to number 5. Other tv and radio stations are all playing XPS and even South African music station Channel O is rotating the clips.
Most of this developed while X Plastaz were on their succesful 2nd international tour which led them to Holland again. In Amsterdam they recorded new tracks with dj's Precise (known for his affiliation with Postmen and dancehall/hip hop parties), dj 360 and Kid Sundance. The track with Kid Sundance has a groundbreaking music video which will be aired soon on Tanzanian and international tv stations.
PROMOTIONAL CD-SINGLES, VIDEOS NOW OUT IN TANZANIA
AMSTERDAM, OCTOBER 25, 2002 - Was it worth the wait? The many positive responses suggest that it has been: Aha and Ushanta singles have finally been distributed to all major Tanzanian radio and tv stations. Ushanta was long overdue, while Aha is an all-new production with an exclusive video that was shot in its entirety on the rough Maasai steppe near Monduli village in Northern Tanzania. The song is about the importance of traditional heritage, and the video shows how three city dwelling hiphop heads take a ride on a battered Jeep into the forest, where they enter into Maasai village life (Yamat's village) and learn about traditional music and culture. They end up singing along with the Maasai warriors dressed in red cloth.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2002: EUROPEAN TOUR, EUROPEAN ALBUM LAUNCHAMSTERDAM, OCTOBER 25, 2002 - X Plastaz seem to live the nomadic life with another new European tour ahead. In november they will head out to Holland where the group will perform at A luta continua: Hip hop against HIV/Aids. The evening is part of Young and PositHIVe, an event around World Aids Day organized by the Dutch Tropical Institute. The focus of the week-long event is on the way youth deal with HIV/Aids.
The X Plastaz show is on 1st of December in the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam, and they will be accompanied by other African emcees: the well known solo rapper Devious from South Africa, and Baby Fatim, a female emcee from Senegal. The African emcees will perform a new track on HIV/Aids together with Dutch rappers 2Tall and Skate the Great, and they will be interviewed on stage about the Aids situation in Arusha's Maasai territories.
At the occasion, X Plastaz will launch their European debut cd album 'Maasai Hip Hop'.
Check out the KIT website for the full program of December 1st.
Other confirmed concert dates:
7 December - Ruigoord, Amsterdam
14 December - RASA, Utrecht
FORTUNE TELLERS ON MUNDIAL 2002 CD COMPILATION
AMSTERDAM, JULY 28, 2002 - The first track which Fortune Tellers ever recorded was 'Kutesa kwa zamu', back in December 1997. The recording has now been featured on a newly released cd compilation of Holland's Festival Mundial, even though X Plastaz and Fortune Tellers were not on this year's program. To get a copy you may have to wait until the next Mundial event (see their website), but don't worry - the group's full album cd is being designed as we speak and will be available around September.
SHIKA LAKO ON DUTCH/SWEDISH COMPILATION
AMSTERDAM, JUNE 25, 2002 -
In anticipation of the new album, the track 'Shika Lako' is now officially available on the all-new DSCompilation: 'the finest blend of Dutch n Swedish hiphop'. The compilation brings together some of the best groups of Sweden and Holland, including Loop Troop, DJ Mass & Rescue and... two African crews: X Plastaz and Godessa (South Africa). Both were produced by Dutch producer Kid Sundance, and XPS feature with their track 'Shika Lako'.Available on order from thedsc.org or Recordbuddy.com
Pic: Nelly getting the paint treatment at the set of the A-Ha! video (May 2002).
X PLASTAZ DOING THE ZANZIBAR FILM FESTIVALAMSTERDAM/DAR, JUNE 17, 2002 - The wait is over: Tanzania is finally geting to see the X Plastaz live again. The first performance in a series of album launch gigs will take place on 8 July on the island of Zanzibar. Their performance is one of the highlights of the annual Zanzibar Film Festival or Festival of the Countries of the Dhow. The crew will be there with Yamat and the Fortune Tellers. They will enjoy the very special company of Morani Ilkisaruni group, a group of Maasai living in Zanzibar who will provide a vocal backdrop, and dj Rita Ray from U.K. who will play afrobeat and other African grooves from The Shrine.
Performances take place in Zanzibar town on the ZIFF festival grounds inside the old Portuguese fort. For more info check out the ZIFF website.
X Plastaz have also completed a track about child soldiers which will be used for the soundtrack to an American movie.