On the 24th of August 2023, Khaligraph Jones came out and issued an open rap battle challenge to Tanzanian rappers whereby, if he wins, he will be respected as the best rapper. The origin of this feud between the “Tuma kitu” hitmaker and Tanzanian rappers began when he claimed that Kenyan music currently is way bigger than Tanzanian music. In a viral street video interview, Khaligraph Jones argued that it’s just the mentality and self-hate that Kenyans have towards their music, making them believe that something from Kenya is not good enough but the industry is way ahead as compared to Tanzania. This statement caught the attention of Tanzanian rappers and shots started being fired. In response to the shots from Tanzania, Khaligraph Jones gave Tanzanian rappers 24 hours to prove themselves, failure to which he promised to go to Tanzania and launch an attack taking over the whole industry and proving to them that he is the best rapper in.
Since the open challenge, many artists and media personnel from Kenya and Tanzania have responded differently in line with which side they support. In Tanzania, Fresh Boys were quick to respond and this was during their freestyle session on XXL ya Clouds FM – a show hosted by Askofu on the renowned Tanzanian radio station Clouds FM. Lord Eyez also responded by claiming that Kenya has great rappers – like Kalamasha and Nyashinski – but Khaligraph Jones is not one of them. He added that Khaligraph Jones has never sold out a concert in Tanzania and there is no single song of his that has topped the music charts in Tanzania. He continued to warn Khaligraph Jones to stop clout chasing with Tanzanian rappers but instead, he channels his focus on releasing music that will shake the Tanzanian rap industry.
Harmonize also shared his opinion on the whole story and he claimed that Khaligraph Jones is disrespecting
Tanzanian rappers. In an Instagram story, Harmonize started by saying that he gave Khaligraph Jones the only award of the year 2023 – EAEA People’s Choice collaboration single of the year (East Africa Community) – for their collaboration “Kwame” and he didn’t know the award will make him – Khaligraph Jones – feel bigger than any rapper to an extent of disrespecting Tanzanian rappers. Harmonize continued to say that he knows Khaligraph rap inspiration is from Tanzania and he urged him not to forget his roots. In conclusion, Harmonize advised Khaligraph Jones to relax because Tanzania hip hop is on another level and the likes of Lunya, County Boy, and Con Boy are his match but still they are better rappers than him.
Rosa Ree is the latest rapper from Tanzania to respond to Khaligraph Jones. In her newly released diss track – aimed at Khaligraph Jones – Rosa Ree claims that she is the goddess of rap and the best rapper in Africa. In response to Rosa Ree, Khaligraph Jones took it to the comment section of Rosa Ree’s video and posted “Good Trial”.
As many artists continue to weigh in on the matter, Bien from Kenya also responded to Rosa Ree’s diss track by commenting “Minaj wa Busia”. Official Nai – a socialite from Tanzania – has shared an inbox chat with Khaligraph Jones where she is seen trying to advise him to stop all this but in his response, Khaligraph Jones said it’s a wake-up call to all rappers and East Africa hip hop has to move forward.
More artists from Tanzania and Kenya are expected to continue this feud to try and establish between Tanzania and Kenya which rap industry is bigger.