Vanessa Mdee

Vanessa Mdee
Born
Vanessa Hau Mdee

(1988-06-07) 7 June 1988 (age 36)
Arusha, Tanzania
Other namesVee Money
Occupations
  • Singer
  • rapper
  • video joskey
  • television personality
  • radio host
Years active2007–2020
PartnerRotimi
Children2
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Labels
Websitevanessamdee.com

Vanessa Hau Mdee (born 7 June 1988),[1] is a Tanzanian singer, rapper, television personality and radio host. Mdee is popularly known for being the first ever Tanzanian MTV VJ. She later rose to prominence as a radio and TV host, hosting Epic Bongo Star Search and Dume Challenge for ITV Tanzania before signing to B'Hits Music Group in late 2012.

After joining B'hits Music Group, Mdee collaborated with Tanzanian rapper A.Y. on a record Money and Ommy Dimpoz, a Bongo Flava artist on a record Me and You that was later voted Song of the Year during the 2013 Kilimanjaro Music Awards.[2] She received an even bigger buzz with the release of her first solo single "Closer", which in its first week was downloaded over 30,000 times, a feat achieved by no other Tanzanian artist. "Closer" remained on the charts for over 13 weeks.[3]

Vanessa has had the chance to interview many artists, such as K'Naan, Kelly Rowland, French Montana, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Ludacris, Miguel, Donald, Nazizi, Xtatic, Stella Mwangi, Camp Mulla, Tay Grin, Teargas and many more African and international acts. In 2015 and 2016, she released three singles ("Nobody But Me", "Never Ever" and "Niroge") which were also received well. In 2018, she was signed to Universal Music Group.[4]

During her Deep Dive With Vanessa Mdee Podcast in 2020, Vanessa Mdee in an unforeseen move, announced to quit the music industry citing pressure and depression as the cause of her decision.[5][6][7][8]

  1. ^ "Vee Money on SDK". Standardmedia.co.ke. 14 April 2011. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  2. ^ Tanzania Music Awards#2013 winners
  3. ^ "Vee Money on Ghafla". Ghafla.co.ke. 14 April 2011. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Vanessa Mdee: "It's Tough to Be a Female Artist, You Have to Work Five Times Harder Than the Men"". okayafrica.com. 11 February 2019. Retrieved 23 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Vanessa Mdee quits music, says its demonic - P.M. News". Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  6. ^ Kamau, Richard (19 June 2020). "Vanessa Mdee Speaks on Quitting Music: 'I Love Music But the Industry is Demonic'". Nairobi Wire. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  7. ^ "Vanessa Mdee hints at next career move after quitting music". Mpasho. Retrieved 3 September 2023.
  8. ^ https://www.the-star.co.ke/authors/nyambs. "I was depressed and alcoholic, says Mdee". The Star. Retrieved 3 September 2023. {{cite web}}: External link in |last= (help)