The Lounge (previously known as Lyricist Lounge Tanzania) was founded in March of 2014 by Shamsa Suleiman and Jennifer Eric as a response to the lack of places where local talent could be found in a communal and comfortable setting. The Lounge’s mission is to provide a positive, cultural safe space for artists to express themselves. The Lounge has two goals: one, to provide a platform for newer artists and those who have never performed live in front of an audience, to gain that experience and help them with their professional development; and two, to give more established artists access to a new, diverse audience with whom to share their work with and build upon their fan base.
Initially the lounge was volunteer based but was soon able to give honorariums to poets, rappers, and other artists. They have no corporate sponsors.
