Singeli is a style of Electronic Dance Music that developed in Tanzania in the mid-2000s. The genre fuses incredibly rapid beats, usually between 180-300BPM, with MC-ing and musical influences from older Tanzanian genres such as Taarab, mchiriku, segere, and Bongo Flava. Instruments, samples and vocals are often pitch-shifted up, adding to the frenetic atmosphere.
Singeli sprung from the Tanzanian "kigodoro" scene (translating to "foam mattress")
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Singeli is a style of Electronic Dance Music that developed in Tanzania in the mid-2000s. The genre fuses incredibly rapid beats, usually between 180-300BPM, with MC-ing and musical influences from older Tanzanian genres such as Taarab, mchiriku, segere, and Bongo Flava. Instruments, samples and vocals are often pitch-shifted up, adding to the frenetic atmosphere.
Singeli sprung from the Tanzanian "kigodoro" scene (translating to "foam mattress"), which consisted of all-night raves where local music intermixed, and party-goers would sleep on foam where they had been dancing once exhausted. The genre grew in popularity in the country, and in the 2010s, is now one of the most popular styles of music in Tanzania. The genre ranges from rough DIY production with fierce MC-ing about street life, to much more poppy and melodic strains, though even this retains the breakneck speed distinctive to the genre. Due to the output of the label Nyege Nyege Tapes, the unique genre gained worldwide attention in the late 2010s.
