Tanzania: Hip hop artists banned from performing indefinitely

Tanzanian national arts council BASATA has banned hip hop artists Diamond Platnumz and Rayvanny from performing in the country and abroad after the pair continued to play their hit single Mwanza, which was banned by the regulatory body on 12 November 2018 for being sexually explicit.

“We have reached the decision because the two musicians have treated our directive with disdain,” BASATA said in a statement on 18 December 2018, as reported by the BBC.

Diamond Platnumz (real name Naseeb Abdul Juma) performed Mwanza, which has more than 6.5 million views on YouTube, at the Wasafi Festival in the city of Mwanza on 16 December.

Tanzanian Govt ban Diamond Platnumz & Rayvan from performing both in the Country and abroad.
This following ban issued last month on their song 'Mwanza'.
(How do you enforce a ban on their activities abroad?) #tanzania pic.twitter.com/pXf4VeGKmk

— Samira Sawlani (@samirasawlani) December 18, 2018

In November, BASATA put a blanket ban on the song for being sexually explicit and fined Diamond Platnumz, Rayvanny and their record label Wasafi Classic 3 million Tanzanian Shillings (about 1,100 euros) each.

The government-run regulatory body has previously banned other songs by the Bongo Flava star—the nickname for Tanzanian hip hop—for being sexually suggestive. Read more here.