Alikiba

Few Tanzanian artists have shaped Bongo Flava as directly as Ali Kiba, the Kigoma-rooted singer and songwriter often called the King of Bongo Flava. Born Ali Saleh Kiba in 1986 in Iringa, he was schooled in Dar es Salaam, and his family's Kigoma roots inform his style. He owns Kings Music and Crown Media Group, and he is usually mentioned alongside his close rival Diamond Platnumz.

Cinderella became the biggest-selling record in East Africa in 2008, and his 2009 album Ali K 4 Real carried Nakshi Mrembo and Usiniseme. In 2008 he also appeared with R. Kelly and other African musicians on the One 8 project. After a hiatus around 2011, he returned in 2014 with Mwana, which brought five awards at the 2015 Tanzania Music Awards. He signed with Sony Music in May 2016 and left in 2021 to start Kings Music. His third album, Only One King, arrived in November 2021, and at the 2022 Tanzania Music Awards it took Best Album while he collected five awards in one night. In March 2024 he launched Crown FM 92.1, broadcasting in Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar, Tanga and Pwani.