Live from Dar es Salaam: Popular Music and Tanzania’s Music Economy by Alex Perullo (review)

A number of studies of contemporary music of Tanzania focus on a single music genre such as taarab, hip-hop, church choir music, or gospel music. Alex Perullo’s book offers a comprehensive analysis of various aspects of the music economy in Dar es Salaam with particular reference to the production, distribution, and consumption of different genres of popular music. Perullo discusses both legal and illegal schemes used by individual musicians, producers, music business persons, and people who work in the media to find economic benefits and social opportunities. For this reason, the term Bongoland, which appears in the title of chapter 3, evokes the main theme of the book as a whole. The term is connected etymologically to the Swahili word ubongo (pl. bongo), which means “brain,” and the multiplicity of tactics examined in the book exemplify the cleverness needed in order to live in and cope with the challenging conditions and everyday realities of a postcolonial city like Dar es Salaam.

In chapter 1 Perullo discusses the formation of Tanzania’s music economy and how it has been affected by nationalism and Tanzanian socialism (ujamaa), postsocialism, neoliberalism, and globalization processes. This analysis is continued in chapter 2, which is concerned with the ambivalence postcolonial Tanzanians feel in their encounters with both local and foreign heritages and influences. Perullo argues that in order to counter globalized forces, localization in contemporary popular music genres has been fueled by cultural nationalistic policies and sentiments. In chapter 3 he focuses on various strategies that musicians in Dar es Salaam (and Tanzania generally) use to become successful and also discusses gender issues, focusing on how the music economy allows women artists to “push against socially accepted customs to influence people’s understanding of gender roles and interpersonal relationships” (86).

The fourth chapter deals with various ways of learning to become a musician in Tanzania’s music economy. Perullo argues that both formal and informal training is available, but most musicians have learned their trade informally. The fifth and sixth chapters present an extensive discussion of the role of radio and television as well as recording studios in popularizing and commodifying popular music in Tanzania. Chapter 7 expands on the ideas examined in chapter 3 by focusing on piracy and its negative effects on Tanzania’s music economy.

In the final chapter (chap. 8) Perullo summarizes the main arguments of the book under the general rubric of “transition,” which refers both to the “increased formality of interactions between individuals in the commodification of arts” (344) and to the decline of state control and ownership of media houses and companies. This concept also is relevant to the contemporary conceptualization of music as a commodity that fosters social and economic benefits and to the incorporation of electronic-generated sounds.

The book includes a number of appendixes. The first appendix describes eight music genres in Tanzania (Bongo Flava, Dansi, Mchiriku, Muziki wa Injili, Muziki wa Kwaya, Ngoma, Reggae, and Taarab). Others provide a list of Tanzanian radio and television stations, a list of clubs with live shows in Dar es Salaam (including the days of the week when one will find live music performances), and a list of Tanzanian promoters. Researchers and general music lovers will find this information helpful.

The book displays the author’s encyclopedic and deep knowledge of Tanzania’s music economy. It contains rich ethnographic descriptions and persuasive arguments, and would be valuable to anyone interested in the contemporary music scene in Tanzania.