Tanzanian Bongo Flava singer Harmonize has clapped back at a section of fans who have been hurling scathing remarks at him, saying they do not understand him whenever he decides to speak in English.
In an Instagram post on Thursday, April 17, 2025, the Konde Gang label boss—whose real name is Rajab Abdul—shared that he has been seeing the various comments being directed at him and openly admitted that he does not really care about them.
In his words, he said he does not see the point in stressing over speaking proper English because those he regularly engages with do, in fact, understand him when he communicates and insisted that those claiming not to understand him were simply doing so because the messages in question were never intended for them in the first place.
“Now let me make y’all understand one thing. Please elaborate to me. Why would I speak proper English—for whom? For what purpose, my G?” He wrote.
“Look, my English will forever be wrong to you, and I don’t give a ph about it. If you realise that you don’t understand my messages, it means that the idea does not concern you.”
Further, Harmonize touted himself as the number one singer across the region who sings fluently in English and asked all those who were throwing criticism his way to take note of that fact and acknowledge it accordingly.
“I’m the only East African English singer. Run that, my G,” he shared.
English songs
The clapback by the ‘Sensema’ crooner comes in the wake of his recent artistic shift from singing in Swahili to delivering his music predominantly in English—a decision that has clearly caught the attention of many fans and critics alike.
His latest songs, ‘Me Too’, which features his girlfriend Abigail Chams, alongside another track titled ‘Finally’, which includes a feature from Grammy-winning hip-hop violinist Miri Ben-Ari, are both performed mainly in English, and fans have since been divided—some praising the evolution, while others have been quick to critique his command of the language.
Diamond’s English
Harmonize’s current predicament comes hot on the heels of a similar situation that befell his fellow Bongo Flava star Diamond Platnumz in July of 2024, who, during a casual meet-up with renowned American singer Jason Derulo, found himself struggling to articulate his thoughts in English—something that did not go unnoticed by sharp-eyed fans online.
Diamond had linked up with Derulo following the release of their joint collaboration on the hit song ‘Komosava’, and as videos of their hangout circulated widely across social media platforms, netizens were quick to notice a number of glaring grammatical errors that Diamond made while conversing with Derulo.
In one of the clips, Jason Derulo was heard casually asking, “When did you get to town?” to which Diamond, appearing slightly unsure, replied, “2nd, right? 2nd in the morning”, a phrase that instantly triggered a barrage of mockery from fans online, who quickly began pointing fingers and laughing at the awkward exchange.
Prior to that, Diamond had also been on the receiving end of backlash after the Netflix reality show Young, Famous & African started trending when netizens picked up on yet another moment where he seemed to completely butcher the English language during a date with South African rapper Nadia Nakai on the show.
It all started when Nadia asked him how old he was, and in a moment that sent shockwaves across the internet, the Bongo star confidently replied, “I’m 31st,” a response that instantly sparked an avalanche of memes, tweets, and general disbelief from fans who couldn’t quite wrap their heads around the statement.
“How old are you?” Nakai asked, to which the singer responded, “I’m 31st.”