Tanzanian singer dropped TV for music, and now she's recording continental wins

Touching down at the Murtala Mohammed Airport, cameras have trailed the Tanzanian singer’s every move through the mainland, down to the office, where she looked ravishing with a dark shirt, tracksuit bottoms and sneakers. This was the sort of day when she would have given anything for a rest, but work called, and she had no time to hit her hotel first.

“I’m still in my plane clothes, forgive me if I’m a little stinky,” she lets out a small laugh which was contagious in the room. I laughed too.

Vanessa Mdee is excited and she can’t contain it.

From TV to Music

Born June 7, 1988, in Arusha, Tanzania, is also referred to as Vee Money. She is popularly known for being the first ever Tanzanian MTV VJ. She later rose to prominence as a radio and TV host, hosting Epic Bongo Star Search and Dume CHallenge for ITV Tanzania before ditching TV, and taking on music full time. In 2012, she signed a deal with B'Hits Music Group in late 2012, and collaborated with Tanzanian rapper A.Y. on a record '’Money'’ and Ommy Dimpoz, a Bongo Flava artist on a record, ‘Me and You’, that was later voted Song of the Year during the 2013 Kilimanjaro Music Awards.

During her stint on TV, Vanessa has had the chance to interview many artists, such as K'Naan, Kelly Rowland, French Montana, Trey Songs, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Ludacris, Miguel, Donald, Nazizi, Xtatic, Stella Mwangi, Camp Mulla, Tay Grin, Teargas, Dr. Sid and many more African and international acts.

Debut Album: "Money Mondays"

She isn’t a stranger to Nigeria, a country whose dominant stars have had countless collaborations with her. She has a great understanding of the country and its cuisine, where she’s looking forward to meeting her fans and interestingly trying out some of the cultural elements of Lagos. “I’m looking forward to eating some Jollof rice and Asun,”

From Ice Prince to Burna Boy and Reekado Banks, Mdee has worked with the top shelf Nigerian talents, and some of those songs have made it into her debut album, which is interestingly titled, “Money Mondays,” a name she picked before hitting the studio to record her first track.

“When I said to everybody that I wanted to branch into music full-time, there were a lot of naysayers, and people who weren’t too positive with the idea or notion of me branching into music,” she explains. “I said this is going to be my ‘Money Mondays’ because Mondays, being the first day of the week, it’s a brand new opportunity for anybody, for any field, in any stage in life to start again. I believe it signifies new beginnings.”

She breaks into her signature announcement, “they call me Vee Money baby, the original cash madam.”

“Money Mondays” album, released under her imprint, Mdee Music, is an album with continental ambitions, designed to contain three genres: the dominant Afro-pop, her personally-preferred R&B, and Bongo Flava, an emotional style which is local to her home country. There are collaborations with musicians from around the continent, including South African rappers Cassper Nyovest and K.O, Ugandan group Radio & Weasel, and Nigerian singer, Reekado Banks.

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One of the leading singles of the project is titled ‘Kisela’, and it features Peter Okoye from defunct Nigerian pop group, Psquare, who now prefers to be called Mr P. The video by Clarence Peters have them both in character as lovers in a boxing ring. “When Peter first came on set, I was a bit nervous. He’s the legendary Peter from Psquare and he might not want to be here for long,” she says. “Peter was there, he was setting up with us, and helped in the direction of the video. He was there from the beginning to the end of the shoot. It was rare and it was such a blessing.”

She admits that the breakup of Psquare was heartbreaking, because of what they represented. “There’s never been a more iconic duo,” she says. “There’s nothing like Psquare, and it’s never going to happen again. So I just want them to be back together and make good music again.”

The coming year will be one filled with music for Vanessa, and she’s already looking forward to making more of it. “I’ve actually already booked a session tonight,” she tells me. “I’m super into making music, and that’s the one thing that makes me thrive.”

Women in music have always had to deal with barriers imposed on them by society and the music industry. To advance past this, Mdee thinks it’s a fundamental flaw in the perception of music creators, which can be fixed by a collective effort, “Women have been breaking barriers throughout history, I don’t think it is up to us as audiences, artists, OAPs to change the narrative. These gender-defined roles should die,” she says.

An extension of this is the culture sexual assault on female creatives, which is prevalent in all levels of the music. In Hollywood, this is being combated by women speaking up against their abusers; naming, shaming and prosecuting them, with the collective movement tagged #MeToo.

Mdee urges for similar moves in African music, calling for people to share their experiences and bring justice to sexual abusers. “There’s no use in hiding behind celebrity or Instagram. If you have something to speak out, and you feel you have been violated, then why not in every situation?” she asks. “If it is the case it is the case, why should you be in fear of your truth?”