Fame and Fortune: How Tanzania's DJ Ally B became the life of every party scene

In the world of entertainment, DJs set the tone for the entire audience that witnesses their sessions through a set of signature moves that differentiate one DJ from the other.

One of the DJs whose signature dance and verbal moves have illustrated his name in Tanzania’s music scene is Ally Simba, a.k.a. DJ Ally B.

He is mostly known for his vibe and whistles, which are usually thrown in when his hands are playing the DJ deck. DJ Ally B is also recognized by words like ‘Asumani’ and 'Nasemaje', which he often uses during his car karaokes, which are conducted either solo or with celebrities.

He has grown to become one of the most influential and successful DJs in Tanzania?who?also owns a DJ school called Simba Scratch Academy, through which he assists aspiring DJs in elevating their skills through practical lessons.

Some of these upcoming DJs have been spotted with him in the videos that DJ Ally B shares on his social media, where he simultaneously plays the DJ deck with them.

However, his actual story began with a passion for music and empty pockets in 2005. At the time, Ally B was a dancer living with his parents in Moshi.

One of his friends, Kassim, who was an employed DJ at Malindi Club, loved Ally B’s music taste and would sometimes ask him to mix songs for him that he would play at the club he was working at.

One day, Kassim had a family emergency and asked Ally B to cover for him during his leave.

"While I was excited about the gig, my parents were not because they did not see it as an actual job. Kassim came back a few days later. I handed the reins back to him and retreated back home. Hours later, after my last session, I got a call from Kassim that informed me that the head of the club wanted to see me," he narrates.

When the two met, the Head of the Club bluntly expressed his interest in employing Ally as he revealed that the audience was enchanted with his skills on the deck. DJ Ally B was employed, and his monthly salary at the time was Sh35,000.

"I did not have any major expenses at the time because I was living with my parents. This made me save most of my salary, and I used some of it to help cover small bills like buying food, electricity, and water at home," he says.

After two years at Malindi Club, Ally B was offered a job by one of the people running a radio station called ‘Triple A’ FM, which is situated in Arusha, and after his relocation in 2007, he was also working at a club called Velocity. Months later, he lost his job at Velocity because of retrenchment.

This pushed Ally B to try his luck in Kenya and Uganda in 2008 before he decided to come back to the country.

"I traveled from Uganda to Mwanza and began working at a place called the Stone Club. After almost two years, the business was not good, and I moved to another club called Kivuli. It was around the same time that I began to hear many good things about a club called Maisha Club in Dar es Salaam, and I wanted to join them," he recalls.

DJ Ally B continues, "I was also in contact with Producer Hanscana on Facebook, who had seen my work through digital snippets that I shared on Facebook, and he advised me to get in contact with two clubs, Maisha Club and Mbalamwezi Beach Club. Shortly after I left messages on both of the clubs’ Facebook pages, I got a call from Mbalamwezi Beach Club saying they wanted to meet me. The next day I boarded a bus to Dar es Salaam."

His early days in the city were not as delightful as he expected they would be. In fact, one of the places he first lived was a house with a clogged toilet and an iron sheet roof that was too close to the bed he shared with his friends’ relative.

"When I first visited Mbalamwezi Beach Club in 2010, I reached an agreement with the boss that I would be paid Sh30,000 after every show. After my first practical interview on the deck, which gathered a huge active crowd, he handed me Sh300,000 and told me that I would be working with him at every show at the club. A few weeks later, Maisha Club reached out to me, and they gave me a similar test on the deck. The next day, I became employed. My career path began to unfold," DJ Ally B details.

While at Maisha Club, he established Simba Scratch Academy with the intent to help aspiring DJs learn different deck skills. He then joined St8up Vibes in 2015 and, later on, became more of a freelance DJ.

"From my early days as an independent DJ, I wanted to be unique. This made me leave a mark wherever I performed. I wanted the audience to feel my energy through my set and me. When I chose to focus on Simba Scratch Academy, I made even more money and also sharpened myself in terms of my skills during the time I was training the other DJs. The rest is history," he explains.

DJ Ally B emphasizes that it is important for aspiring talents to embrace patience and master the art of learning from other people in their line of work because this enhances creativity and brilliance in an individual.

"My secret to success consists of consistency in practicing my expertise, an open mind that allows me to learn from other people, humbleness, and patience. It took years to get to where I currently am, and I foresee myself becoming a Grammy Award winner in the near future. My goal is for upcoming DJs to look up to me and see a hardworking person who is living his dream. I want them to seek an example from me," he says.