This Is Me (Live) is a testament to Frida Amani’s understanding of live performances, and knowing that at the core of music is live recitals, as there is no substitute for the energy and excitement that comes from performing one’s music live.
By Frank Njugi
Since releasing the hit singles, “Tuone” featuring G Nako, and “Jibebe” featuring G Boy in 2018, Tanzanian artiste, Frida Amani, has established herself as one of Bongo Rap’s fast-rising female emcees. Her follow-up songs, such as “Mi Na We”, “Madam President” (an ode to the president of Tanzania Samia Suluhu Hassan ), “Anakudanganya”, and “Bad”, showcased her dexterity and revealed to Hip Hop aficionados in the region a musical aesthetic characterised by an unwavering slant rhyme of Swahili words and lyrics that are unabashed in their narration of personal experiences.
Hailing from Arusha, northern Tanzania, Frida Amani came to the limelight in 2015, after placing third in the popular interactive musical reality TV show, Bongo Star Search ( BSS). She used the fame accrued from this achievement as a springboard to venture into broadcasting as a radio and TV presenter, establishing herself as a well-known media personality in Tanzania. Due to this notability, many of the songs she has released have gone on to become trendy online. On Valentine’s Day this year, Frida Amani released This Is Me ( Live), a curation of six of her previously recorded songs performed live by a musical ensemble which comprises herself, Baraka Issabu on the keys, bassist Humphrey Mubba, solo guitarist Emmanuel Gripa, and back up vocalists Becky Iyanga and Phanuel Soul.
This Is Me ( Live) is a testament to Frida Amani’s understanding of live performances, and knowing that at the core of music is live recitals, as there is no substitute for the energy and excitement that comes from performing one’s music live. Frida Amani gives a live recount using audio-visual narrations — which are usually peripatetic in terms of theme — subsequently keeping her seat at the table as a notable performer of Bongo Rap.
The first performance on the EP is Frida Amani’s single, “Wapi”, first released in August 2023, a track which originally featured Rooftop Gang’s Young Lunya. The original song itself is a breezy, cleverly syncopated one, with Young Lunya entertaining with a striking charismatic and imposing verse. In the live performance, Frida Amani’s backup vocalists occasionally pop up with unexpected electrifying choruses, showcasing an incredible vocal harmony as they sing alongside the artiste, thus making “Wapi (Live)” a fitting start for the EP.
The next recital is of her 2020 hit single, “Bad”, a song that has captivated listeners since its release. The song revealed the musician’s raw rap talent and on the EP, she gives an electrifying and energetic performance further accentuated by the rest of her ensemble. The instrumentation also heightens the listening experience, making the song sound like an amped-up version of the original track.
The third performance is a laid-back rendition of her 2020 single, “Mi Na We”. In the EP, Frida Armani and her vocalists present a song forever etched in memory, with the hook and chorus most memorable. Its lyrics narrate a real-life romantic experience of the artiste, resulting in a song that has a profound emotional flow. It also makes a case for being the best live rendition among the six in This Is Me (Live).
The follow-up song, “Done (Live), is a live recital of her 2021 single “Done” which featured Zambian Afro-pop artiste Taz Goemi. “Done (Live)” comes off as a continuation of the instrumentation witnessed in “Mi Na We (Live) — sounds remastered from the ones in the original song and raw orchestrations without embellishments that might cause to you get carried away by the magic of the moment. The lyrics are also similar to those of “Mi Na We (live)”, narrating the finer feelings of romance.
The penultimate performance is “Sitaki”. As the title suggests — with Sitaki translating to ‘I don’t want’ in Swahili — the track is a declaration of Frida Armani’s resistance against any possibility of romance, due to baneful past experiences she has had as a result. In “Sitaki” we get to hear euphoric and flamboyant piano keys which complement her voice and result in a display of sonic perfection.
“Madam President” crowns Frida’s performance in the ensemble. The song is known for its memorable chorus, “Kwenye Rap game mi Madam President. Head of the government./ Naongea na residents, Aheea (I feel like Mama Samia)/”, with Mama Samia in this case alluding to President Hassan. Her performance on this one is erratic. The lyrical delivery is emblematic of Hip Hop’s core aesthetics, making sure that she stays on beat by stressing Swahili syllables in time to compliment the musical backdrop.

American singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Jon Batiste, once spoke of how humans, despite having so many ways to communicate at their disposal, must not forget the transformative power of a live music experience and genuine human exchange. Through This Is Me (Live), Frida Amani alludes to and also purveys the same line of thinking.
Bongo Flava is the most commercially successful form of Pop music in East Africa. Since the late 1980s, when the genre popped up due to the influence of United States African-American music, only male acts have seemed to dominate the Hip Hop iteration of it, Bongo Rap. But recent years have seen the emergence of female emcees undeterred by this norm, and Frida Amani is one of these emcees. By releasing This Is Me (Live), she showcases how Bongo Rap’s aesthetic of using local melodies and Swahili lyricism is also felicitous with the core physical expression of music: live performance.
Lyricism – 1.3
Tracklisting – 1.0
Sound Engineering –1.8
Vocalisation – 1.3
Listening Experience – 1.5
Rating – 6.9/10
Frank Njugi is a Kenyan writer, culture journalist and critic who has written on the Kenyan and East African culture scene for platforms such as Debunk Media, Sinema Focus, Wakilisha Africa, The Moveee, Africa in Dialogue, Afrocritik and many others. He tweets as @franknjugi.