Music (Tanzania): Katika by Diamond Platnumz ft. Navy Kenzo (2018)

 Play Katika {Video}


In Nairobi's Eastlands [Eastlando] of old, which some still remember, Katika was a verb (almost an adverb) reserved for unabashed, sexy dance-floor moves by certain female folks -- there in the social halls. More generally, it referred to walking the "sexy walk" -- even unintentionally. One suspects that Katika, the Tanzanian song we have here, references that apparently evergreen and energetic jargon. There's plenty of Katika in the present clip, for sure. And the word keeps turning up from every aural angle, and with every beat and pause and line of rap. 

But there's more. When it's her turn, as was inevitable, Aika (the female half of Navy Kenzo) bamboozles even seasoned Swahili speakers with her staccato, stream-of-consciousness rendition of seemingly incomprehensible lines: "Maumivu naugulia/Mwiba ukizama nahisi mateso/Utamu nang'ang'ania/Ndizi kwa nyama napata mchecheto/Nakuna nazi kwa mkongojo/Naunga mchuzi wa Sotojo/Uno la Rosti Rojolojo/Mikunjo fulani Wabogojo/..." She leaves them with a stammering sensation, trying to keep up -- even as Nahreel and Diamond Platnumz separately flirt! This is Aika as we've never seen her.

Katika treats the audience to a great and throbbing beat, as well, fused with a rich Samba melody. Supple dancing bodies fill the to-and-fro view, and sprinkle it with innuendo. A Latino frame of mind has become the scene, thusly, and won't let go.

Click here for the Katika lyrics