my real name is Amos Augustine Mutasingwa, I am a Tanzanian citizen. Tanzania lies between Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in East Africa. I was born on the 22nd June 1979 in Moshi, in the Kilimanjaro region
and northern parts of the country. I have a big family, I’m the fourth of seven children. When I was five years old my family moved north to Mwanza at Lake Victoria because my father got a new job in an oil company. I went to primary and secondary school in Mwanza city. I became involved int...

my real name is Amos Augustine Mutasingwa, I am a Tanzanian citizen. Tanzania lies between Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi in East Africa. I was born on the 22nd June 1979 in Moshi, in the Kilimanjaro region
and northern parts of the country. I have a big family, I’m the fourth of seven children. When I was five years old my family moved north to Mwanza at Lake Victoria because my father got a new job in an oil company. I went to primary and secondary school in Mwanza city. I became involved into music (composing and singing) at a very young
age, at about the age of 12 years. First I used to sing in the school choir but soon I got the opportunity to sing solo at many festivities
in school and elsewhere. I moved south to Dar es Salaam on my own at the age of 22 years. This biggest city of Tanzania (and secret capital, like Zurich in Switzerland) lies directly at
the Indian ocean and offers more opportunities for artists and musicians.
I used to play football and basketball back in Mwanza, but since I've been in Dar es Salaam I have had too much on my mind to do sports, so that I simply run
from time to time.
I have my own religion. I'm raised with the believes of the Lutheran church, but I believe in Jah and his message of peace, love and togetherness. I think that Jah and the God of the Lutheran church
are in essence the same. My favourite reggae singers are Sly and Robbie from Jamaica. I play reggae rather than local, traditional music because it is very strong music, it touches the core of
things and the messages are meant to give the people some new thoughts about the important things in daily life.
Phantom Ranks is the name I got from the people. When I started to sing I was a very skinny man. So when I went to perform in shows my voice was very rough and powerful, it didn’t really suit my thin body. Then the audience would cry “phantom, phantom, phantom”.... the second
part of my name Ranks comes from my childhood. When we were kids my younger brother used to call me Ranks, it means leader in Jamaican
language....
People started to call me Ghetto Ambassador too. I sing a lot about the life in the ghetto, about street kids, I try to defend the peace in the
ghetto with love and respect so that's why they say I’m their ambassador.
My music is influenced by my mama because my mother was the solo singer in the church choir when I was a child. I've got my
reggae influences from the great Bob Marley. Already as a little boy i was really in love with his songs and the messages he gives us
through them. I compose my songs by myself. The text inspirations come from my daily experiences.
When I’m with people and something happens that interests or moves me I start composing and writing the lyrics.
I can express my feelings and thoughts best with reggae music, there is a wide spread of love songs and also political issues in reggae. We talk about war, fights and battles, pain, death, torture, kids in
the streets, but also about love, family life and honour. We reggae musicians are messengers for what touches peoples hearts and minds, we sing about their unspeakable emotions.
I'm playing Afrobeat, Dancehall, Reggae, Ragga, Ska Rock, Reggaeton. The biggest influence comes from my African background.
Usually i compose the songs alone. But special combinations like the song and video UNITE we did write and sing in teamwork with Soudi Mosad, the guy from
Rwanda. I don't really "create" melodies. it's more that they invade my mind while am walking in the street or while am talking to people. I can hear the tunes in my head and then i start thinking about the words. The phrases fit into the music naturally.
Right now I'm preparing two albums. The first album is called UNITE and contains many of my recent songs like “Like you”, “Show dem de sign”, “Give me a chance”, “Unaogopa”, “Utaweza”, “Unite”, “Street bwoy”. These are a few of them. The CD will be out for sale soon. The second album is still in the making and there is no title yet. The songs will tell a personal story about the lives of African people. After bringing the CDs out i'd like to do a tour in Africa and Europe to promote these two albums and to get out to sing for the people. Therefore I use the English language rather than only my mother tongue Kiswahili, to reach out to people in other countries.