The Transformation of Darda King

 Dardanus Mfalme, popularly known as Dardan King or Darda King has been a key figure in the East African music industry. The multi-talented poet, writer, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and musician has captured the wider imagination of the global audience. Despite his huge reputation as a key figure in the Bongo Flava industry, he has been transitioning into a new genre of music. Dardan King was born in Tanga, Tanzania and his talents would be evident at an early age. What began as piano lessons at the age of 12 would lay the foundation for a successful career. At an early age, Dardan would perform and record choir music and this would be coupled with performances in churches and gospel crusades. Dardan had many projects in high school most of which included playing with the choir as a solo guitarist. However, Dardan would experience his first musical transition when studying in Iowa United States. At his home studio, he began transitioning towards Bongo Flava which was Swahili hip-hop music. In 2005, he released his first album-titled Nimerudi was a hit and it catalyzed his popularity. Nimekubalika 2006, was the artist’s second album that he released in collaboration with Digipixel Studios in Texas in 2006. This is an album that cemented the popularity of the artist in East Africa as “Yiho,” was a music song that dominated the East African TV charts. Nimeshinda 2007 and Nimekamilika 2010 were two more albums that Darda King would release before embarking on another musical transition. Despite the success of Darda King’s venture into Bongo Flava, he would make a key transition into live constructive, and educational music. This transition began in 2011 following the artist’s release of a book titled Nimebadilika 2011, which translates to, I have changed. The release of another book in 2014 titled ”Ninang’atuka 2014," confirmed the changes in his music style, where Darda King explained his reasons for quitting Bongo Flava music and what the audience would expect from his music changes. However, Darda King fans would wait almost a decade for the return of the artist to the music scene. This transition to live and educational music was a significant change for the artist now baptized as Dardanus Mfalme. The music transition was followed by the change of his stage name to Dardan King from Darda King to illustrate a change in his musical taste. Dardan King has grown out of the Bongo Flava phase as his music is more educational. The influence of baptism on his music transition indicates another key progress but also traces his roots to where his music career began. This is a change that the artist foreshadowed in the book released in 2014 and despite a lengthy break from the music scene, he is back with what promises to be another interesting turn in his career. Transformation of one’s music career is quite a common occurrence in the music industry. The return of Dardan King to the music industry is another chapter for the artist that has had so much success outside his native Tanzania. For more info, bio and content visit: https://mfalme.com