Hussein Machozi speaks about his beef with Diamond

A few years ago, the sweet harmony of Hussein Machozi was one among a coterie of Bongo flava artistes who commanded a huge following across the East African showbiz scene, a following that— if recent reports are to be believed—he has lost to the new crop of artistes.

However, according to Hussein Machozi he is still one of the most popular Bongo flava artistes across the region, and his rating as a star has never floundered.

He cites his break from the limelight as a deliberate move, arguing that it is when your fans miss you or start asking questions about your whereabouts that you feel appreciated as an artiste.

 “Being in the limelight constantly, for whatever reason, has an adverse effect on one’s performances. For instance, it saddens me when I see most of the artistes creating scandals so as to attract media buzz. This is utter immaturity,” he says.

Hussein also reveals that he has been in Kenya for seven months, and is pursuing studies in one of the city colleges.

“I have two more years to go,” he told Pulse. Recently, he released a collabo featuring Sauti Soul titled Utapenda, which he says is a blissful song that is meant to celebrate the diversity in Kenyan and Tanzanian girls.

“This song tries to demystify myths such as Kenyan girls are untrustworthy, as perceived by Tanzanian men, and that Tanzanians are backward, as perceived by Kenyans,” he explains.

Notably, his latest songs show a certain maturity and lyrical growth as he now prefers singing to high tempo music. He says the new sound will cater for his many admirers in clubs as it is more danceable.

Giving his perspective on the entertainment scene across the East African region, the singer argues that competition is bigger than before as music pays better, and that Tanzanians are leading the pack.

He constantly reminds me that Tanzanian producers are the best in the region.

“Tanzanian producers make authentic African sounds that can easily resonate with the indigenous people, as opposed to most Kenya producers, who are skilled in copy pasting the western type of music,” he says.

This is why he sends most of his projects to Tanzania for mastering and production.

Another problem facing the entertainment industry today, according to Hussein, is the fact most artistes want immediate success, and seem not to understand that most of the celebrated musicians took years to make it.

While responding to claims that Diamond Platinumz stole one of his songs titled Haikai, Hussein Machozi says, “I am still one of the best artistes in the region, and that is why artistes such as Diamond had to sample my song and call it Kizaizai to become famous. I have actually recorded many songs that I will release soon; he should copy those, too.

“This is the problem of being at levels you cannot keep up with. All of Diamonds hit songs are stolen ideas from fellow bongo artistes. Ngololo and Nataka Kulewa are some of them,” he declares. At this point, the singer challenges the writer to identify one of Diamond’s hit songs that has no sampled music.

“We have varied personalities; I sing because I’m passionate about music and my composition has no boundaries; my audience includes the old and young,” he says.

This is how he sums up the Diamond issue: “Huo ni ujinga, ujana and ushamba; most of us were brought up in hardship, so when money and fame come fast, we tend to forget where we came from and start compensating for our childhood troubles.”

When asked about his long-time mentor, Mr Blue, Hussein Machozi says he is yet to see a Bongo artiste that can sing better than his old friend. He says Mr Blue is still actively involved in the music industry.

Hussein Machozi started music at a tender age, and in 2006, decided to pursue music as a profession. However, it was not until 2008, when he released Kafia Ghetto, that he became popular in the region.

Before he thought of music as a profession, the singer was a professional footballer in the Tanzanian premier league, and even played for the country’s Under-20 national team.

It was after being axed from the team under unclear circumstances that he vowed never to play professional football again, and decided to venture into music. Tetemesha Records in Mwanza was his first recording studio.