His real name is Joseph Mbilinyi and he is generally
considered as the most prominent rapper in Tanzania.
He stems from Mtwara in Southern Tanzania,
but has also lived in Arusha in the North. II Proud started to
rap in 1991, when he was still in school. His inspirations were
Ice Cube, Niggers With Attitude and above all Tupak Shakur. II
Proud says:
To me he was a man of reality. He was from the ghetto and
he talked about the ghetto. I don't think he was bad because of
what he was talking. He tried to give out the reality. Talking
about what's happening in the ghetto is not bad. What's was
happening in the ghetto was bad. Normally in my music I talk
about what is happening in my hood and Tanzania.
II Proud raps in Swahili most of the time. His view here is
very pragmatic:
It is not different. To me it's just language. What made
me rap in Kiswahili is because the people I live with and the
people I intend to give the message to, they don't understand
English, but I need to communicate with them, so I need to come
in the language they understand. That made me to do this in
Kiswahili. But I don't think it's different to rap in Kiswahili.
It's just language.
His style is very forceful.
I write lyrics and flip on the microphone. I'm bad at
that.
II Proud doesn't play instruments. He usually performs with
prerecorded instrumental backgrounds prepared in cooperation with
producer and studio man Master J.
I first think of the name of the song. When I get the name
of the song I start writing lyrics. Sometimes it's slowly,
sometimes it's faster. It depends on the mood. Cause I only do
it when I'm in the mood. I don't force myself to write. When I've
finished writing the verses I start with the chorus. I compose
the chorus. I check it up.
When it's over then I leave everything with the producer at the
studio. I just tell him I have a song I want to record. Yo, what
he does is to give me some instrumentals to listen and ask me
which one I prefer to flip on. And ask me questions like do you
like this tempo. I normally prefer tempo 96. So I record the
music.
II Proud performs not only in Dar but all over the country and
also sometimes in neighbouring countries. We heard him in
Nairobi.
It depends on where I'm invited to. Here in Dar some people
promote concerts. They invite me. Yo, come on, we wanna you be
one of these MC:s that's gonna perform there. When they show me
how much they gonna pay me and all this. If we agree then I go
there and perform. Sometimes I get invited upcountry in places
like Mwanza, Arusha everywhere.
Asked about payments II Proud says:
No, I don't get that much... Yeah, some time I tried to
have a fixed price but it didn't work. Like sometimes you are
totally broke and you say my minimum is maybe 100.000 (Tanzanian
Shillings, approx. = USD 150). Then the man, the promotor, comes
to you with 8.000 and you have no way out. You need some money.
So you have to take that.
Sometimes I'm happy...
When asked what is typical for his style he says:
What makes me is what I'm talking in my songs. In my music
I talk about what is happening daily in Tanzanian life and
sometimes what is happening in neighbouring countries. I
sometimes talk about politics.
In a country like this the low standard people get tired of what
is going on and the way they are being led by the African
politicians. Then they get there, they just take care of their
own, their families, you see what I mean. So I normally talk
about that in my music. I talk about what is touching people's
hearts. That's what make people listen to my music. Every time
I come with a new song everybody realize: "Yo, let's listen to
the man. What has he come with now?"
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I know a lot of men listen to my music. Old people listen
to my music, women, girls, boys, even small children listen to
my music and they like it. Big shots, politicians, I mean high
class people they are not down with rap music because of the
words in there. The truth that is spoken by me and other rappers.
They don't want to listen to it.
But I'm sure even those ones listen. But they don't want to
support it. But I'm sure they listen inside their rooms to rap
music. They have their people from the street, from where we
stay, and these people must be telling them that something is
happening. A new musician has talked about this shit and this
shit. To them it's shit. They will ask: Can you bring this so I
could listen to what shit he has talked about. They listen I'm
sure.
I even shook hands with a lot of these ministers. Sometimes I get
introduced to a minister, maybe I'm with a friend who knows the
minister or is relative whatever. And I meet the minister and the
friend makes introduction: "This is II Proud." - "Oh, are you II
Proud. Are you the one talking about police, hardships in life
and all this?" So, they listen.
II Proud has issued three cassettes or "albums" as it's called
in Dar.
Of my last album I sold officially like 10.000 copies. But
pirated I can't say. Maybe a million. I don't know. Cause my
music is everywhere in this country, even in outside
countries.
Listen to samples from
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