Salum Matata

Salum Matata is a Tanzanian Blues singer and songwriter born in Dar Es Salaam.

He has grown to become one of Zanzibar's most admired performers. Salum entertains crowds with an impressive vocal range and heart-felt original blues compositions inspired by the likes of John Lee Hooker and BB King. His vocal style is influenced by Ali Farka Toure (Mali) and Olive Mtukduzi (Zimbabwe), in addition to his late-Grandmother -- a spirit he frequently invokes in his songs. His confident, laidback guitar-playing style draws on techniques from Remmy Ongala, Hukwe Zawose and Salif Keita. This mix of African tribal rhythms and contemporary blues has resulted in a truly unique style he calls 'ChiAfrika Blues'.

Salum developed his love for music while listening to his Grandmother sing. He would often ask his Grandmother 'Bibi - what are you singing?' as he didn't understand her tribal language of Fipa. Although the original lyrics of her songs are now forgotten, Salum has taken those melodies and added his own Swahili lyrics to compose dozens of original songs around the themes of life and social challenges.