Ali Saleh Kiba (26 November 1986), best known as Ali Kiba or sometimes King Kiba, is a Tanzanian musician and songwriter. He is from Kigoma and the owner of Kings Music label.
Ali Kiba was born in Iringa to parents Saleh Omari and Tombwe Njere. He is the eldest son in a family of four. His siblings consist of his brother, Abdu Kiba who is also a musician, a sister, Zabibu Kiba and the youngest brother, Abuu Kiba
Four: Cinderella
With the name as its debut studio album, “Cinderella” garnered over 2.7 views on its official music video on YouTube. It was released on the 1st of June, 2006. Ali’s debut album and hit single ‘Cinderella’ became the biggest selling record in East Africa in 2008.
FYI
- Apart from being a musician, he is also an actor, Director and Footballer.
- According to BASATA Alikiba is one of the most successful Bongo Flava singers and considered the greatest of all time having often been referred to by many contemporaries as the “King of Bongo flava”.
- He was endorsed by the mobile telephony brand Airtel Africa alongside the Billboard Most Influential Global R&B Artist of the past 25 years like R. Kelly, Fally Ipupa, 2Face Idibia , Amani, Movaizhaleine, 4X4, Navio, and JK.
Three: Mwana
Garnering over 31M views on its official music video on YouTube, the song “Mwana” was released off his debut album “So Hot” which became his comeback hit after a three year hiatus. It was released on the 4th of December, 2014. It was produced by ManWalter and written by Alikiba. The song serves as the first single of his comeback studio album. Mwana won the Award for Best Afro Pop song of the Year in 2015
Two: On Fire
Garnering over 1.5M views on its official music lyric video on YouTube, with over 92k streams on Spotify, the song was released on the 17th of May, 2023. It serves as his latest single which was produced and Written by Alikiba.
Discography
- Cinderella (2006)
- Ali K 4 Real (2009)
- Only One King (2021)
Bonus: Salute feat. Rudeboy
With over 6.9M views on its official music video YouTube, the track was released on the 30th of June,2021 from the “Only one King” album which was produced by Yogo Beats.
AWARDS/NOMINATIONS
- Ali Kiba set a new record at the Tanzania Music Awards by winning 17 Awards after winning 5 awards at the 2022 Tanzania Music Awards that were held for the first time in April 2, 2022 after 6 years hiatus.
- He won six awards at the 2015 Tanzania Music Awards and broke the record on Mkito for the most downloaded song of 2015
- Alikiba won Album of the Year for his third studio album “Only One King” that was released in 2021
- Best Male Artist People’s Choice, Best Music Video for his smash hit “Salute” featuring Nigerian artist Rudeboy
- Best Melodic Songwriter of the Year and Best East African Artist during the ceremony.
- Mwana won the Award for Best Afro Pop song of the Year in 2015
- In 2016, he won the Best International Act Award
One: Aje
With over 12M views on its official music video on YouTube, the song “Aje” was released from his studio album “So Hot” on the 19th of May, 2016. The song was written by Louw Jandre and Ali Kiba. The song won the award for Best East African Video and Best African RnB video at the 2016 Watsup Music Awards. In 2016, Aje won the award at the BEFFTA Awards for Video of the Year and Best African Act, and at the ASFA Awards in Uganda, the song won the award for Most Stylish Artiste East Africa and Most Fashionable Music Video Africa amongst many more.
