Abigail Chams

On June 3, 2025, in Los Angeles, the BET Awards hall held its breath. Abigail Chams, 22, listened to the nominations. Her name appeared: “Best New International Artist.” The first East African female artist to be honored in this way. She did not win the award, but she paved the way.

In Brief

Key Dates

From the Family Orchestra to International Stages

Abigail Chamungwana grew up in a household where music was everywhere. Her grandfather, director of an orchestra, gave her her first piano lessons when she was five. At eight, she already held the violin. At ten, she played guitar, drums, and flute. “I have sung my whole life, as long as I can remember,” she told The Citizen in 2020.

Her first music was gospel. In her church choir, she led the praise from the age of ten. In 2020, at 17, her first official single appeared, “Tucheze” (“Let’s Dance”). But over time, her subject matter changed: love, broken heart, dance. She also released covers on social media. One of them, her version of “Brown Skin Girl,” received a repost from Beyoncé: “She is my number one inspiration. It gave me a boost of confidence.”

In June 2022, Sony Music Africa signed the young woman with only one song to her credit. Christine “Seven” Mosha: “She embodies the X factor we are looking for.” Fifteen months later, Abigail Chams released her first EP, 5, a six-track project between faith, family, and Tanzanian pride. No. 1 in Tanzania and No. 3 in Africa. The first single, “Nani ?” (“Who?”), featuring Marioo, reached the top of the charts in twenty-four hours and stayed there for six weeks.

“Me Too,” a duet with Harmonize, marked an additional step. The video accumulated tens of millions of views and the title became her biggest streaming success. In May 2025, Rolling Stone Africa made her a cover artist of its “Future of Music” collection. She sings in Kiswahili, English, and French, incorporating Taarab and Bongo Flava sounds — the Tanzanian genre that fuses local rhythms with modern pop — and sometimes Amapiano.

Historic First and Civic Engagement

On June 3, 2025, her nomination for the BET Awards inscribed her name in history. No East African woman had ever reached this milestone at 22.

Marked by her own experiences with anxiety, Abigail launched “The Talk with Abigail Chams,” an initiative dedicated to the mental health of young people. “People don’t talk about it, but suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among youth,” she noted. “I wanted to create a platform to show people they are not alone.”

In September 2026, UNICEF Tanzania named her National Ambassador, extending her role as Youth Advocate. Her campaign “Hauko Solo” encourages young people to speak about their feelings and to call 116, the child helpline. “All I am is music,” she said to Billboard Africa. If she dreams of Coachella and the Grammys, she has already accomplished what few imagined at eight, when she wrote in her journal: “I want to be the queen of pop.”

Major Works

Legacy and Influence

Abigail Chams embodies a new generation of East African artists who no longer need to leave the continent to reach the world. A poly-instrumentalist, trilingual, and engaged on mental health issues — a subject rarely addressed in Tanzania — she expands what it means to be a Tanzanian pop star. Her BET nomination opened the eyes of international programmers to the potential of the East African scene, and “The Talk with Abigail Chams” launched a dialogue that hundreds of young people continue on social media.

Sources and References

1. “Abigail Chams Steps into the Light”, Rolling Stone Africa, https://rollingstoneafrica.com/music/music-features/abigail-chams-steps-into-the-light/, accessed November 3, 2026.
2. “Tanzania’s Abigail Chams Is on the Brink of Superstardom”, OkayAfrica, https://www.okayafrica.com/tanzanias-abigail-chams-is-on-the-brink-of-superstardom/112766, accessed November 3, 2026.
3. “Abigail Chams Biography: Age, Family, Songs & BET Rise”, Xtrafrica, https://www.xtrafrica.com/news/abigail-chams-biography-age-family-songs-bet-rise, accessed November 3, 2026.

4. « Abby Chams The gospel voice fairy », The Citizen, https://www.thecitizen.co.tz/tanzania/magazines/abby-chams-the-gospel-voice-fairy-2712878, accessed November 3, 2026.
5. « UNICEF appoints renowned musician Abigail Chams as National Ambassador », UNICEF Tanzania, https://www.unicef.org/tanzania/press-releases/unicef-appoints-renowned-musician-abigail-chams-national-ambassador-ahead, accessed November 3, 2026.
6. « Sony Music Signs Tanzanian Singer Abby Chams », Music In Africa, https://www.musicinafrica.net/magazine/sony-music-signs-tanzanian-singer-abby-chams, accessed November 3, 2026.
7. « Abigail Chams », Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abigail_Chams, accessed November 3, 2026.
8. « Abigail Chams », Afrisson, https://www.afrisson.com/abigail-chams/, accessed November 3, 2026.