Mzungu Kichaa

Mzungu Kichaa aka Espen Sorensen is a Danish singer and musician. He was born in Denmark, but grew up in Tanzania, where his parents worked in the field of Development Cooperation. They went there when he was six years old. In Tanzania he learned to speak Swahili fluently and later on he got involved in music and particularly in the production of Bongo Flava at Bongo Records. The latest outcome of his interest in East African music is his first solo album "Tuko Pamoja".

Music career

In the late 1990s Espen Sorensen was among the first artists that started recording at Bongo Records in Dar Es Salaam, among them Juma Nature, TID, Mangwair, Ferooz and Professor Jay. During that time it was also, when he got his artist's name Mzungu Kichaa, what can be translated by "Crazy white man".^[1] He didn't appear among the upcoming artists in Tanzania at that time, but did some choruses on several songs around 2001.^[2] Later on he went to the UK to do his undergraduate studies in Music and Cultural Anthropology. After finishing his MA in African Studies he stepped back to his music career, founding a group called Effigong in 2006. In 2008 he decided to continue as a solo artist and sucdeeded to release his first record in 2009 on the independent label Caravan Records.^[3] The album was first released in East Africa, but after getting airplay on several European radio stations it was also released in Europe in May 2009. The songs of the album, like "Jitolee" (feat. Professor Jay) or "Wajanja" are all in Swahili, the language mainly used in East African Bongo Flava. The lyrics of the songs focus on social problems in Tanzania, like poverty.^[4] Sorensen did a three-weeks promotion tour for his album in february 2009, mainly in Tanzania and Kenya, but he also performed in Denmark with the backing group ReCulture.

The single Jitolee has been a hit in Tanzania and Kenya.^[5]

Discography

• Tuko Pamoja (2009)

References

1. ^ Mzungu Kichaa: Danish with love for African music
2. ^ Mzungu Kichaa
3. ^ Biography
4. ^ Mzungu Kichaa. Tuko Pamoja - Debut Album
5. ^ Daily Nation, January 29, 2010: Bongo star’s latest single a big hit

External links

• Interview EA Standard (Nairobi) 13 Feb.2009
• African HipHop
• Kongoi
• Mzungu Kichaa to Launch Debut Album
• Inside World Music - CD-Review

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