Downtown in Dar Es Salaam

Dar es Salaam , formerly Mzizima, is the largest city (population about 5,000,000 estimated 2002), economic centre and former capital of Tanzania. The Name was Translated from Arabic Language means ‘Safe Harbour’. The city serves as the capital for the surrounding Dar es Salaam Region as well as, arguably, the de facto current capital of Tanzania. Though inland Dodoma is the official capital, the vast a majority of federal government employees live in Dar and most major political figures maintain residences here. Located on a harbour on the Indian Ocean, it is the main port for Tanzania, handling exports of minerals, coffee, cotton, sisal and hides. In addition it is the hub of Tanzanian's national transport system as most major highways and all railways originate in or near the city. Local industries include trade, food products, textiles, cement, and pharmaceuticals. About one half on Tanzania's manufacturing employment is located here despite the fact that Dar holds only ten percent of the population.

Downtown Dar es Salaam includes many small businesses, many of which are run by traders and proprietors whose families originated from the Middle East and Indian sub-continent — areas of the world with which the settlements of the Tanzanian coast have had long-standing trading relations. During the daytime the heavy weight of traffic, office workers, busy merchants, street vendors and restaurateurs of the area lend it a frenetic and slightly claustrophobic air. However, after nightfall the area is relatively quiet as much of the city's nightlife is located in more residential districts away from the city's mainly commercial centre.

The sprawling suburbs furthest from the city centre are generally populated by Tanzanians of African descent, with the exception of Oyster Bay, where there is a large population of foreign expatriates. Although there is no racial hostility, the various ethnic communities of Dar es Salaam do not tend to mix heavily. The edges of Dar es Salaam are spreading rapidly, severely taxing the transportation network (which aside from ferries, lacks any kind of mass transit facilities) and raising the prospect of future urban overcrowding.



There is also a lively music scene in Dar es Salaam which is divided among several styles. The longest standing segment is live dance bands such as Kilimanjaro, Twanga Pepeta and FM Academia. Taarab which was traditionally strong in Zanzibar has also found a niche but remains small compared both to dance music and "Bongo Flava", a broad category that represents the Tanzanian take on Hip Hop and R&B, which has quickly become the most popular locally produced music. This type of music is especially strong among the youth and it seems that its pull is reducing the interest in performing and hearing dance music. Songs by artists such as Ferooz name check Dar districts such as Sinza. Traditional music, which locally is used to refer to tribal music is still performed but typically only on family oriented occasions such as weddings.

Much like the popular music of other major cities Dar es Salaam's hip music of the day Bongo Flava is a cultural escape for youths that speaks to topics of everyday life such as "HIV/AIDS, scraping a life together, the difficulty of meeting basic needs, class and wealth barriers, holding your head high despite everything."

This Rap scene has been present and growing for the past ten years as City life has drawn much of the youth in surrounding areas have made the trek into a more urban lifestyle in search of a new better beginning.