Zanzibar mourns the death of this fierce, energetic woman; her music fused African and Arabic cultures, much the same way that she mixed beer and cigarettes; personal fire and music:
“I drink. I smoke and I sing.”
There is no birth certificate but, she was believed to be over 100 years old. A musical legend in Tanzania, she began singing at the age of 10. Let’s watch out for the forthcoming documentary on her life: As Old As My Tongue. Excerpt below.
More from PRI’s The World: http://www.theworld.org/2013/04/bi-kidude-zanzibar-music/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DBo0TEpyFs
wow, beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful! That is the Swahili Coast culture. What a woman. To add an essential dimension not immediately apparent–the smell of CLOVES! When you step on that island–70 percent of the world’s cloves produced on little Zanzibar and the delightful aroma overpowering everywhere. And the mysterious filligreed, latticed old Arabic architecture in the old towns there.