Saida Karoli, Mlimani Park Orchestra to receive 2022 Music In Africa Honorary Award

The award has been a central feature since the first edition of ACCES in 2017 and allows the pan-African conference’s organiser, the Music In Africa Foundation (MIAF), to recognise the outstanding contributions of notable musicians to their home country’s industry and that of Africa as a whole.

Previous Music In Africa Honorary Award recipients include Baaba Maal (Senegal, 2017), Eric Wainaina (Kenya, 2018), Ebo Taylor (Ghana, 2019), Bibie Brew (Ghana, 2019), Vusi Mahlasela (South Africa, 2021) and Thandiswa Mazwai (South Africa, 2021).

“The Music In Africa Honorary Award is the Foundation’s way to say thank you to African musicians who have given so much to listeners, practitioners and future generations,” MIAF director Eddie Hatitye said. “We are incredibly happy to present this award to Saida Karoli and DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra – two inspirational names in music that should never be forgotten. The awards ceremony will be the perfect way to kick off ACCES 2022, which will take place in the rich musical nation of Tanzania for the very first time.”

Karoli was born in the village of Rwongwe in Tanzania’s north-western Bukoba Region in 1976. As a singer, composer, dancer and drummer, she exploded onto East Africa’s music scene in 2001 with ‘Marie Salome’ (aka ‘Chambua Kama Karanga’), which endures as one of Tanzania’s most loved songs until today. She has performed for big audiences in Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, DRC, Uganda and Kenya, and her musical talent, steeped in Tanzania’s rural traditions, has captivated diverse audiences across the African continent.

Since its formation in 1978, when Karoli was just two years old, DDC Mlimani Park Orchestra has been one of Tanzania’s most popular bands. The muziki wa dansi collective started out when principal musicians from groups like Nuta Jazz and Dar es Salaam Jazz Band came together to form the new house band of Mlimani Park Bar. The band cooed itself into the hearts of Tanzanians with an endless string of hits composed and sung by the likes of Hassani Bitchuka, Muhiddin Maalim Gurumo, Cosmas Chidumule and Shaaban Dede. The group is known for its topical lyrics, intricate poetry and unsurpassed instrumentation, which have qualified it as one of Africa’s most outstanding bands.

The 2022 Music In Africa Honorary Award ceremony will begin at 8pm and attendees are urged to register via the official website to avoid disappointment. African attendees register for free. The ceremony will be followed by the ACCES music showcase programme featuring top musicians from Tanzania and the rest of Africa.

View the full ACCES programme here.

About ACCES

ACCES is a pan-African trade show for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. ACCES is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe. ACCES 2022 is organised by the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit pan-African organisation, in partnership with Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut, Alliance Française, Ziiki Media, Wasafi Media, the Ministry of Culture, Arts and Sports of Tanzania, the National Arts Council of Tanzania (BASATA), SACEM, and Salon des Industries Musicales d’Afrique Francophone (SIMA). See all our wonderful ACCES 2022 sponsors and partners here.

Connect with us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to our monthly newsletter.