|
Born JOSEPH MBILINYI in May 1st 1972 in TANZANIA...as an artist he is known as SUGU a.k.a Mr.II (...Pronounce Mr 2)or among his 'long time fans'... He's also known by the name II PROUD (..pronounce TOO PROUD),which was his first stage name when he started music...
He is the Hiphop/Rap/Bongoflava artist, Entertainment Businessman and also a Music Activist.
Sugu is the truly LIVING LEGEND in the TANZANIAN AND EAST AFRICAN RAP ARENA...He is one of the PIONEERS,but he also gets an outstanding CREDITS and RESPECT for his contribution on giving life to Tanzanian rap/Bongoflava music...He helped make our music what it is today,from being underrated,unwanted and a criticised type of music...,to the most loved music it is today!...He helped Tanzanian rap music to find its own way of developing into business...creating hope and opportunities in life to thousands of urban youngsters from the streets of Tanzania and East Africa in general...
He was the winner of the BEST HIP HOP ARTIST AWARD at the TANZANIA MUSIC AWARDS(TAMA) in the year 2000...and later in 2001 he was nominated and then won Tanzania'sBEST MALE ARTIST AWARD at the M-NET AFRICA GRAMMY AWARDS...Talking about awards,in 2005 he was nominated for the BEST HIPHOP/RAP ALBUM at the..,now called TANZANIA KILI MUSIC AWARDS, but he refused the invitation to participate!!WHY??!!...Sugu has been boycotting the TANZANIA KILI MUSIC AWARDS,an annual event organized almost directly by a major brewery company in Tanzania!He sees the awards as of no standards at all,and also not even aimed at developing music industry in Tanzania rather than just promoting a BEER brand!
Sugu's music speak for itself,he is not and has never been afraid to tell it as it is,whether its about himself and his personal life experiences and challenges, or issues affecting his society at large like,corruption,poor democracy, human rights,police brutality, goverment officials and the misusing of powers, prostitution and underage prostitution,love and relationships,about self confidence or anything around his daily real life...
Now more than straight 15 YEARS in the game and on the TOP all time...He started being interested on rapping while at secondary school in Mbeya town,Tanzania,where he was living with his family and attending Mbeya day secondary school...while at school in 1989,him and his two school friends had a group calling themselves B.V.S.M.P,they used to exchange rhymes on school corridors during break times between classes....not knowing at all it was coming to get him this far!!!
After completing secondary education in 1991, his musical journey continued...back in Mbeya in 1992 he connected with another friends, DJ BBG and San Jacko to form a rap group and calling themselves 'Niggaz II Public'...as a group they did shows at every school and college in Mbeya town before they signed a contract with GTZ-a Germany non-governmental organization..,after discovering their early potential and the hype rap music was bringing among the youth, GTZ needed the group to do campaign shows on HIV and AIDS awareness around the town...soon the group became popular in Mbeya and neighboring towns...In 1993 Sugu moved to Dar es salaam, where he later took on a solo career and get more serious with music...and since then there was no going back for him!
In 1994 he joined briefly with a group called 'DA YOUNG MOB', so he could have a chance to participate in the YO' RAP BONANZA COMPETITION (...solo artists were not allowed to participate on this competitions!!!), this was the legendary competitions organised annually by the then much renowned entertainment company, KIM &THE BOYZ in Dar es salaam..After shining respectively from first round to the finals, IIProud & DA YOUNG MOB ended up 3rd winners...Same that year,Sugu then using name 2Proud,recorded his first single 'SIKU YANGU' which means 'MY DAY',the song became a big hit and introduced him and his music to fans all over the country...
In 1995 he released his first album 'NI MIMI', then after followed the non-stop album releases todate,...His much credited sophomore album 'NDANI YA BONGO' came out in 1996, then 'NIITE MR 2' in 1998, 'NJE YA BONGO' in 1999, 'MILLENIA' in 2000, 'MUZIKI NA MAISHA' in 2001, and 'ITIKADI' in 2002...And after a 'brief retirement' and him spending a period of time in the UK,there he met with a Kenyan born UK producer Sir Prestige,who convinced him to go back to the studio and 'do it for the fans',...they went to the studio together in South London and in 2004 he released his eighth album,a self titled SUGU... and his latest album, COMING OF AGE/UJIO WA UMRI, which was produced by the famous Swiss producer known as DJ LINK was released in 2006 with a very big impact...
As the first real Tanzanian rap star, Sugu has performed at venues in almost every town in Tanzania,he was the first artist to tour the country entirely...And since the release of his first single and album, Sugu a.k.a Mr 2 has been making hits after hits,toping Tanzanian radio charts through out all these years,doing collabos with a number of artists and also introducing new talents into music...,his voice has continued to dominate the airwaves in Tanzania and as far as Lubumbashi,in Congo,...and with 9 albums so far released on his name,no doubt he is the most productive MC ever in East Africa!...today if u ask many of the artists in
Tanzania...that,who was their first influence in music?most of them will tell u...SUGU!
And a number of big Tanzanian and some East African artists today has admited live on their media interviews that they learned how to flow by copying his early days lyrics!
In his music carrier he has performed and made appearances internationally in the UK,Sweden,The Netherlands,Belgium and the US...
He has also participated at various international music festivals like, WOMEX FESTIVAL, 98 in Stockholm, Sweden,where he shared the audiance with legendary African singer Oliver Mutukudzi from Zimbabwe.Also FESTIVAL MUNDIAL, 2001 in Tilburg,The Netherlands,where he was also 'blessed' to share the audiance with another African legendery musician,Baaba Maal from Senegal...He performed at Zanzibar International Film Festivals-ZIFF 2000/2001 in Zanzibar,and he hosted hiphop/rap live show and also performed at SAUTI ZA BUSARA FESTIVAL, 2005 in Zanzibar.
Many people in Tanzania still remember that, Sugu was the first person ever to initiate and organize the first ever hip hop concert by American super group to be held in Tanzania!...In 1998, the LOST BOYZ then very big and world famous group from New York was coming for a concert in Nairobi, Kenya...then Sugu, without even being sure about business side of it, he took the risk and managed to convince Kenyan promoters who booked the group for that East Africa tour..., to bring the group for a concert in Dar es salaam as well!...they agreed and LOST BOYZ came and gave a great and memorable show in Tanzania!
Apart from just recording and performing,as the music activist, Sugu has done a lot of activities for the development of Tanzanian rap music and the local music industry in general...He organised a historic event, the 'TANZANIA HIP HOP SUMMIT 2004', which was held successfully with a very positive impact in Dar es salaam in December 2004..., more than 500 music stakeholders attended,among them were artists, producers, radio DJs, journalists, Tanzania copyright society representatives, diplomats from American embassy in Dar-es-salaam, university professors and doctors, all gathered to discuss both..,developments and problems facing music industry in Tanzania.
Issues on copyright, music piracy, IPR, music business basic knowledge,marketing and promotion,contribution of the media on development of music, the role of Tanzanian artists in war against HIV/AIDS, and even conflicts (beefs) which was just starting to get out of control between Tanzanian artists,were all discussed on intellectual levels...enuf credits go to the Secretary General of this event,Dr Philip Mwimanzi who is in Japan doing his PHD,the DEIWAKA PRODUCTIONS crew and the summit steering committee!
In 2005 using his company DEIWAKA PRODUCTIONS and in cooperation with the French cultural center in Tanzania(the ALLIANCE FRANCAISE), Sugu helped organising a concert by a Senegalese rap legend, DIDIER AWADI,who toured Tanzania as part of preparation for his AFRICAN PRESIDENTS project...a very clever concept album of which Sugu himself is featured...also that same year,in collaboration with Swiss embassy in Dar es salaam, he organized 2 big concerts in 2 Dar es salaam city 'USWAHILINI' areas...prominent Tanzanian artists like Fid Q,Afande Sele,Saigon, Dr Levy, Sugu himself etc,performed live on stage together with CHLYKLASS CREW,a number one rap group from Switzerland.
After releasing his latest album COMING OF AGE/UJIO WA UMRI in 2006,Sugu once again went on the road for 'THE COMING OF AGE TANZANIA TOUR 2006', giving massive live shows on stages in the packed venues from town to town across Tanzania...
...And now as we are in 2008, SUGU a.k.a Mr.II is in the US.............
THANK U AND KEEP SUPPORTING THE MUSIC!!!
|
