Vanessa Mdee

Vanessa Hau Mdee (born 7 June 1988),[1] is a Tanzanian recording artist, television personality and radio host.

[2] She received an even bigger buzz with the release of her first solo single "Closer", which in its first week was downloaded over 30,000 times, a feat achieved by no other Tanzanian artist.

[3] Vanessa has had the chance to interview many artists, such as K'Naan, Kelly Rowland, French Montana, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Ludacris, Miguel, Donald, Nazizi, Xtatic, Stella Mwangi, Camp Mulla, Tay Grin, Teargas and many more African and international acts.

By 2008, Mdee had established herself in Tanzania and around the continent, hosting shows in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Angola, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In early 2009 Mdee hosted Senses, Sounds and Wisdom with Zantel during the annual Sauti Za Busara International Music Festival, showcasing the ever-growing Swahili culture.

She also interviewed many artists, such as K'Naan, Kelly Rowland, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Ludacris, Miguel, Donald, Naazizi, Xtatic, Stella Mwangi, Camp Mulla, Tay Grin, Teargas, Dr. Sid and many more African and international acts.

In 2012 Mdee hosted MTV Base Meets, a show geared towards empowering young Africans from around the world by giving them the rare opportunity to sit down with an influential leader.

MTV Base Meets brought her in the company of Russell Simmons, Alek Wek, former President of Nigeria Hon.

People who have appeared on Vee World Wide include Keke Palmer, Carol Rodrigues, Da Internz, Keyshia Knight Pulliam, Letoya Luckett, DWoods, GOOD Music's D'Banj and many more.

Also in 2012, Mdee was awarded at a gala in New York City by the UNA-YP (United Nations Association of Young Professionals) for being an African change maker.

In October 2013 Mdee joined the GAVI Alliance again at the UN General Assembly where she spoke on a panel with Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda.

[9] Mdee hosted MTV Base's Hunters Oasis; a music festival around Africa with appearances from some of the African continents hottest artists and DJs.

The tour final took place on Saturday, 18 October 2014 in Dar es Salaam where American rapper T.I graced the stage; other acts included Diamond, Davido, Waje, Victoria Kimani, Patoranking to name a few.

On 8 November, Vanessa Mdee joined forces with another Tanzanian songbird Barnaba Elias to release their latest up tempo Afro Pop duet Siri.

Composed by Vanessa Mdee, Ntokozo Mdluli and Nahreel, the light hearted collabo will transcend from the airwaves to the club.

Vanessa Mdee shared the stage with some of the continent's top artists like Burna Boy, Awilo Longomba, M.I, Waje, Sean Tizzle, Victoria Kimani, Efya, Skales and many more.

Vanessa Mdee's also nominated for Favorite Female Artist at Tanzania's People's Choice Awards Tuzo Za Watu that take place on 22 May 2015 in Dar es Salaam.

Vanessa Mdee delivering an electrifying performance[16] was among the headliners that featured international singing sensation Chris Brown, Nigeria's Wizkid, Tanzania's Alikiba and others.

[20] In July 2019, Vanessa Mdee was unveiled as one of the four pioneer judges for the debut season of East Africa's Got Talent, which began airing in August 2019 in Kigali Rwanda.

The album enjoyed guest artists suchas Cassper Nyovest, Joh Makini, Reekado Banks, Radio & Weasel, Mohombi and Jamaican Dancehall king Konshens[23] Money Mondays broke many records in East African Music history, a report announced by African most loved music streaming platform BoomPlay.

The album showed great potential from the onset when it sold 2 000 pre-ordered copies 10 days before the official release date of 29 January 2017.

The pair were in a relationship for six years before the final breakup in 2018 which they mutually agreed to keep secret before Vanessa revealed the news in an interview in 2019.

[26][27] Juma Jux later revealed in an interview that his first breakup with the singer was as a result of a picture of Vanessa with Nigerian rapper, Ice Prince, with the two looking cozy.

[32][33] Rotimi told the story of how the two met at a party and hit it off [34] and Vanessa also said in an interview how she knew he was her husband, only two days after meeting him.

[37] In December 2020, Vanessa announced her engagement to Rotimi by posting a video of her diamond ring on Instagram along with a long caption.

Vanessa Mdee is also the older sister to Mimi Mars who is a renowned Tanzanian singer, actress and TV Host.

Mdee performing in 2015