Tanzania’s bongo star Harmonize has gifted Kenyan singer Bien-Aime Baraza one of his signature chains.
Taking to his Instagram stories, Bien posted a video of Harmonize taking off his chain before presenting it to Bien during a meet-up in Zanzibar.
In the video, Bien is heard praising Harmonize’s chain before the singer popularly known as ‘Konde Boy’ puts it on him.
Bien at the Trace Music Summit and Awards
Harmonize caused a stir on social media in February 2025 after asserting that the chain is worth $500,000, equivalent to Ksh 64 million. The chain had the initials ‘KM’ referring to his record label ‘Konde Music’.
Also Read: Everything You Missed at the 2025 Trace Music Awards Tour – Celebrating Bien
The former Sauti Sol music group was hanging out with bongo stars Harmonize and Ali Kiba, among other Tanzanian music stars, during the Trace Music Summit in Zanzibar, Tanzania ahead of the Trace Awards 2025.
Bien is the only nominee from Kenya in the awards. He was nominated under the Best Artist-East African category.
Bien’s competitors
He will be competing with notable personalities in the music industry including Tanzania’s Diamond Platinumz, Harmonize, Marioo, Zuchu, and Nandy, as well as Uganda’s Joshua Baraka and Ethiopia’s Rophnan.
Voting was opened on January 2, 2025, and was closed on February 15, 2025.
The summit began on February 24, 2025, and is set to conclude on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at the Mora Zanzibar Resort. The conversations encircled Africa’s creative industry, technology, and branding.
Also Read: Bien Reveals How Working With Marioo Changed His Life
The awards will feature 24 categories to celebrate African music including ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Best Newcomer’ which will be sponsored by Jonnie Walker.
Trace Awards endeavors to amplify and recognize African talent and showcase its cultural pride and influence in the global space.
Other nominees
The highly anticipated ‘Song of the Year’ and ‘Album of the Year’ have proven to be highly competitive and have been dominated by West Africans and South Africans.
Nominees for ‘Song of the Year’ include Tyla’s ‘Jump’(South Africa), Tyler ICU’s ‘Mnike’ (South Africa), ‘Tshwala Bam’ by Titomand Yuppe (South Africa), ‘Love me Jeje’ by Tems (Nigeria), ‘Higher’ by Burna Boy and ‘Active’ by Asake and Travis Scott (Nigeria).
Album of the Year nominees include Burna Boy’s I Told Them (Nigeria), Asake’s Lungu Boy (Nigeria), Rema’s Heis (Nigeria), and Josey’s Vibration Universelle (Ivory Coast).
Others include Amaarae’s Fountain Baby (Ghana), King Promise’s True To Self (Ghana ), and Toofan’s Stamina (Togo) are some of the standout musical projects from across Africa.
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