You may remember him from the movie Bongoland as Juma, the movie that put him on the world map. He is a self created artist with a solid inspirational vision for his future.
His real name is Mukama Morandi. He stands at 6’2 and weighs close to 195 pounds on a good day. When you meet Mukama, you automatically think “this guy is somebody”. It is difficult to describe, but he has an overwhelming presence that makes you do a double take each time you see him. Maybe it is his height but then again maybe it is his smirk smile. His stature was good enough to win him a leading role in Bongoland.
Truth be told, Bongoland was not exactly a block buster movie at your local home box office. But it was a huge milestone in Kibira Film’s intentions of putting Swahili on the world map. Suddenly there was a movie that was produced by East African actors, speaking Swahili about issues which affect them. The movie was not about gangs, pimps, witchcraft or infidelity but real issues which face many immigrants in the Diaspora. Bongoland series competed well internationally. When asked on how he thinks he performed in Bongoland? Mukama humbly responded “I don’t self rate”. He says he was just proud that the movie gave him another avenue to express his artistic side.
Being an artist part of the time is a challenging proposition to any up-coming artist. To pay the bills, one has to pursue artistic endeavors on the side while working a regular job. Asked what it would take for him to be an artist at a hundred percent of the time? Mukama quickly noted that he was already pursuing his dream on a fulltime basis only that artistically he gets paid on a part-time basis. A genuine dilemma that remains true to many artists starting out.
Mukama landed in Minneapolis by the way of Norway where he was pursuing an Economics degree for few years. On a vacation visit to Los Angeles, he run in to a band from Minneapolis called “Les Exodus” As luck had it; this band consisted of artists from Tanzania. In fact Mukama heard of them before this encounter. The band members included the legendary Innocent Galinoma and Onesmo Kibira.
At the end of that gig, Onesmo mentioned to him to come to Minneapolis…a causal and polite remark common in Swahili conversations…”Utatutembelea lini kwetu mzee?” “When will you visit us” “Nitakuja tu” “I will come…” he replied. Onesmo later said he extended the invitation to Mukama because Mukama had introduced himself as a musician and to Onesmo this was another potential Tanzanian band member who could surely help the Les Exodus cause. So he invited him…kind of. Few months later, Mukama showed up in Minneapolis. Not for a visit but for good.
The story gets funny at this point. Neither Onesmo nor Mukama can speak with a straight face why Mukama never joined Les Exodus or if he was ever invited to join. Both were unwilling to disclose whether the differences were artistic, technical or social... We are still investigating. Nevertheless, Mukama was here to stay and he was to make a name for himself as a musician. For one thing, he was in the right place. Musicians from East Africa in Minneapolis go way back to the early eighties. The city has a community that is very multicultural and goes out of its way to support a multicultural artistic environment. It is said that Bob Marley was scheduled to appear in Minneapolis when he passed away. Besides Innocent and Onesmo, Joe Shalita and Msafiri and Mpambala are few East Africans have been on the music scene in Minneapolis for years.
Being in a strange place is not something new to Mukama. As a son of the diplomat, he often had to move from country to country changing schools, learning new languages, and making new friends. This nomadic childhood experience, helped him develop a “hustler mind frame”
This came in handy when he arrived in Minneapolis, where he once again found himself starting over. Beside his movie acting debut in Bongoland, Mukama has produced an album and three compelling videos with strong messages. His first video about AIDS titled “Save the World” debuted in the movie Tusamehe by Kibira Films. The video is very well made. It involved artists from Africa and United States. The genre of this song is pop, R&B, hip-hop with an African flavor. African Girl is his second single, which also done in mixed genres with Swahili lyrics talking about love.
Turn Back Time is his third single, which is purely a reggae beat. His efforts have not gone unnoticed because his music has been submitted to several music festivals and actually won few awards. He explains that his song “Save the World’s” success in the festival circuit was beyond his expectations. It won a special award at the 2007 New York International Aids Film Festivals. It also won first prize of the Inspirational Excellence Award for Best Music Video at the 2008 Bayou City Inspirational Film Festivals in Houston, Texas. The song showcases Mukama’s talent and dedication to the art.
Save the World single and video won other several awards including:
2nd prize for best music video ’ at the 2008 Urban Mediamakers Film Festival in Atlanta, 1st prize f or Best Music Video at the 2009 San Diego Black Film Festival 1st prize for best film score at the Moondance International Film Festival in Boulder, Colorado. Talking to Mukama, you can vividly see where he wants to be in relation to where he is now. You also get a sense that he is well aware of the challenges ahead. He comments, “I am determined to find my niche, network and grab opportunities as they come my way….I believe that sooner or later doors will open someday”. That day may be here already because as he put it, “I am hitting the studio for another Reggae vibe” This time it will be about his musical journey. He is also in the process of forming his own band. For his acting career he confirms that he has been contacted by Kibira Films for Bongoland 3 whose script is being written as of the writing of this article.
Above all, Mukama posses a “can do” attitude which is very crucial in a crowded and highly competitive industry. In the world of viral videos and auto-tunes, it very refreshing to see an artist who still has faith in his talent, ambitions and dreams and who truly believes that luck has nothing to do with it….he just has to “get up and go grab his dreams”
Bravo!!
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