Shabani Jabiri Bakari grew up with music all around him, in the small and creative town of Bagamoyo, Tanzania. He studied for a Diploma in Performing Arts at Bagamoyo College of Arts, where he is now working as a Tutor.

Shabani is influenced by all types of traditional Tanzanian Music, from all different tribes of Tanzania. He is inspired by music from different parts of the continent, as he enjoys fusion and trying out new combinations and cooperations with other artists. Shabani has performed all around the world, and worked as a dance and music teacher in Norway for a year. He has worked with musicians throughout Europe and the rest of the world, a process that made him grow as an artist and has given him more of his own style, at the same time more diversity.

Says Shabani, "I love to be a representative for traditional music and culture in a modern society."