The name 'Bongo' is a nickname for Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's biggest city. (It comes from the Swahili word ubongo, meaning 'brain' - a joke that you need brains to survive in such a busy place.) 'Flava' is the English word 'flavour'. Put them together and you have 'the flavour of Bongo' - the sound of Dar es Salaam.
Most Bongo Flava songs are sung in Swahili, which means listeners across all of East Africa can understand them. Songs are about love, family, friendship, growing up and the small struggles of daily life. The beat is bright and easy to dance to, often built on traditional drums underneath modern keyboards and bass.
Bongo Flava artists are some of the most famous people in East Africa. Singers like Diamond Platnumz have hundreds of millions of views on YouTube and tour all over the world. Their videos are full of bright colours and Tanzanian streets, beaches and family parties.
Bongo Flava lives next to an older Tanzanian style called taarab, which has been popular on Zanzibar for over 100 years. Taarab mixes Arab, Indian and African instruments. Many Tanzanian children grow up hearing both: taarab at older relatives' weddings, and Bongo Flava on the radio and on their phones.