This archive report was first published on 15 November 2019.
Kenyan musician Timmy Tdat has found himself at the center of a controversy surrounding his new collaboration, 'Vitamin U', with Tanzanian femcee Rosa Ree.
According to Tdat, he deleted the video after Rosa Ree was summoned by three government agencies in Tanzania, including the Board of Film Censors of Tanzania (BASATA), due to the explicit content in the video.
Speaking to Mseto East Africa, Tdat explained that he felt it was right to pull down the video as Rosa Ree was facing heat from authorities in her country.
“I deleted the video because of Rosa Ree. The side of Tanzania was a mess. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, she was in court for different cases. On Monday, she was in court for unknown charges, on Tuesday, she was in court for the Board of Film Censors of Tanzania, and on Wednesday, she was in court for BASATA itself. So, the more it continued, the more it stayed, and I felt she was a headache to deal with,” he said.
Tdat also faulted the authorities for turning a blind eye to the fact that 'Vitamin U' is his song, and Rosa Ree is just a featured artiste.
“You see, those guys cannot understand that it's not on their channel, it's on my channel, and they cannot understand that it's not their song, it's my song that I featured her in. Once she became a character, she was already a problem. I could have done the best thing by pulling down the video first, letting things settle, and then editing it,” he said.
Tdat was also defiant about creating more lewd content, stating that it's where the Kenyan music industry is headed.
“If I'm given the opportunity to make a video like that, I would do it because that's where we're headed. Trey Songz does it, pretty ugly does it. We need to take our industry to the next level,” said Tdat.
Meanwhile, Tanzania authorities have cracked the whip on Rosa Ree, banning her from taking part in any music-related activities for six months.
The ban means the 'Kipopo' singer will not be allowed to perform in and outside the country as well as release any new song for the stipulated period of time.
According to acting Basata CEO Onesmo Kayanda, Rosa Ree violated two more laws, including not bringing the project to Basata for review and not entering into a contract with the international artiste she collaborated with as per the law.
