Omary Ally Mwanga (born 31 December 1995), known professionally as Marioo, is a

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

n singer, songwriter, poet, and music producer. He was born in

Temeke Temeke District (officially known as Temeke Municipal Council ) is one of five district in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, with Kinondoni to the far north of the city, and Ilala in the downtown of Dar es Salaam. To the east is the Indian Ocean and to th ...

Dar es Salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

and later on he was moved to Kibiti District to live with his grandmother. Omary now lives in Dar es Salaam,mikocheni where he writes, performs, and releases primarily

bongo flava Bongo Flava (or Bongoflava) is a nickname for Tanzanian music. The genre developed in the 1990s, mainly as a derivative of American hip hop and traditional Tanzanian styles such as taarab and dansi, with additional influences from reggae, R ...

and

kiswahili Swahili, also known by its local name , is the native language of the Swahili people, who are found primarily in Tanzania, Kenya and Mozambique (along the East African coast and adjacent litoral islands). It is a Bantu language, though Swahili ...

amapiano Amapiano ( Zulu for "the pianos") is a style of house music that emerged in South Africa in the mid 2010s. It is a hybrid of deep house, jazz and lounge music characterized by synths and wide percussive basslines. It is distinguished by high-pit ...

music. In 2022, Omary won 3 Tanzanian Music Awards from 7 nominations.

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

magazine ranked Marioo 39 on its 40 afropop songs of 2022. Marioo released his debut album “

The Kid You Know ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

” on December 9th 2022. NotJustOk's and Tanzanian music journalist, Charles Maganga praised "The Kid You Know" album by stating that the album has "established Marioo as a mega Bongo Fleva star " and acclaimed Marioo's versatility as Marioo " explored different musical styles such as Amapiano, Afrobeats, and R&B while remaining true to his Bongo Fleva https://notjustok.com/eastafrica/review/album-review-best-songs-in-marioos-debut-album-the-kid-you-know/

Early life

Omary Mwanga was born in

Dar es salaam Dar es Salaam (; from ar, دَار السَّلَام, Dâr es-Selâm, lit=Abode of Peace) or commonly known as Dar, is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over s ...

to Wandengereko parents from Pwani region of Tanzania. When he was a kid he was sent to live with his grandmother in kibiti, Pwani region where he studied Primary school and later on joined secondary school. When he was at form one in secondary school he dropped out of school and moved Temeke, Dar Es Salaam to live with his mother again. While in Dar Es Salaam Marioo started working at his uncle's garage as a motor vehicle mechanic. It was during this time when he started writing songs for other musicians. In 2015, he recorded vocals of his first song, "Dar Kugumu". In 2018 he mixed, made a video, and released "Dar Kugumu" in 2018. "Dar Kugumu" was put on rotation in Dar es Salaam and Nairobi, beginning Omary's career as a musician.

Discography

Awards

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1995 births Living people People from Pwani Region Tanzanian musicians Swahili-language singers 21st-century Tanzanian male singers Tanzanian Bongo Flava musicians