Billnass is a Tanzanian rapper, songwriter and entrepreneur who has helped keep hip-hop central to the melodic world of Bongo Flava. Born William Nicholaus Lyimo in Tanga, he performs with the confidence of a battle-ready MC but writes for a broad Swahili-speaking audience, moving between punchlines, romance and dance-floor rhythm.
He shares career updates through his official X profile. From the early single “Raha” and a 2017 Coke Studio Africa appearance to “Puuh,” the Chuo kwa Chuo campus project and 2026 releases “Division One” and “Hallo,” his career shows how a Tanzanian rapper can protect lyrical identity while working comfortably with singers.
Who is Billnass? Billnass is Tanzanian rapper William Nicholaus Lyimo, also known as Nenga. Born in Tanga, he broke through with “Raha,” became a 2022 Tanzania Music Award winner and built a crossover catalogue led by “Puuh.” He is also Nandy’s husband and the founder of youth and business projects beyond music.
Nenga’s Artistic Craft: Swahili Rap Inside Bongo Flava
Billnass’s artistic identity begins with rap, even when the surrounding record is melodic. His verses use conversational Kiswahili, internal rhyme, comic turns and confident self-presentation. The nickname Nenga has become a second persona within that work: less a separate character than a shorthand for his competitive MC energy.
That position matters in Tanzania, where Bongo Flava has always allowed rap, R&B, dance music and local storytelling to overlap. Billnass can attack a stripped-back freestyle, then appear beside a singer without making the collaboration feel like a retreat from hip-hop. “Mazoea” with MwanaFA and “Utaonaje” with Rayvanny foreground rap dialogue; “Deka” with Marioo and “Boda” with Mbosso place his cadence against smoother hooks.
The best-known example is “Puuh” with Jay Melody. Shazam’s official song record credits Billnass as performer and William Lymo as composer, with S2Kizzy producing. The track’s appeal came from balance: an immediately singable refrain, romantic writing and verses that remained recognisably his. That combination helped him reach pop listeners without erasing the rapper underneath.
XTRAfrica’s live Billnass songs page now gathers the newer catalogue under an irregular trailing-hyphen URL. The address is important for editors because it is the existing Wix music route, not a slug to be corrected.
Chagga Heritage and Tanzanian Identity
Tanzania’s National Arts Council gives the clearest identity record. The official BASATA artist profile identifies him as William Nicholaus Lyimo, born on 11 April 1993 at Bombo Hospital in Tanga. He is 33 years old as of 13 August 2026. BASATA also describes his family roots as Chagga and connected to Kilimanjaro Region.
AFRICAN CULTURE
Billnass Biography: Age, Wife, Songs and Hip-Hop Career
Aug 13, 2026
Aug 13, 2026
11 min read
Published
Updated:
Billnass is a Tanzanian rapper, songwriter and entrepreneur who has helped keep hip-hop central to the melodic world of Bongo Flava. Born William Nicholaus Lyimo in Tanga, he performs with the confidence of a battle-ready MC but writes for a broad Swahili-speaking audience, moving between punchlines, romance and dance-floor rhythm.
He shares career updates through his official X profile. From the early single “Raha” and a 2017 Coke Studio Africa appearance to “Puuh,” the Chuo kwa Chuo campus project and 2026 releases “Division One” and “Hallo,” his career shows how a Tanzanian rapper can protect lyrical identity while working comfortably with singers.
Who is Billnass? Billnass is Tanzanian rapper William Nicholaus Lyimo, also known as Nenga. Born in Tanga, he broke through with “Raha,” became a 2022 Tanzania Music Award winner and built a crossover catalogue led by “Puuh.” He is also Nandy’s husband and the founder of youth and business projects beyond music.
Nenga’s Artistic Craft: Swahili Rap Inside Bongo Flava
Billnass’s artistic identity begins with rap, even when the surrounding record is melodic. His verses use conversational Kiswahili, internal rhyme, comic turns and confident self-presentation. The nickname Nenga has become a second persona within that work: less a separate character than a shorthand for his competitive MC energy.
That position matters in Tanzania, where Bongo Flava has always allowed rap, R&B, dance music and local storytelling to overlap. Billnass can attack a stripped-back freestyle, then appear beside a singer without making the collaboration feel like a retreat from hip-hop. “Mazoea” with MwanaFA and “Utaonaje” with Rayvanny foreground rap dialogue; “Deka” with Marioo and “Boda” with Mbosso place his cadence against smoother hooks.
The best-known example is “Puuh” with Jay Melody. Shazam’s official song record credits Billnass as performer and William Lymo as composer, with S2Kizzy producing. The track’s appeal came from balance: an immediately singable refrain, romantic writing and verses that remained recognisably his. That combination helped him reach pop listeners without erasing the rapper underneath.
XTRAfrica’s live Billnass songs page now gathers the newer catalogue under an irregular trailing-hyphen URL. The address is important for editors because it is the existing Wix music route, not a slug to be corrected.
Chagga Heritage and Tanzanian Identity
Tanzania’s National Arts Council gives the clearest identity record. The official BASATA artist profile identifies him as William Nicholaus Lyimo, born on 11 April 1993 at Bombo Hospital in Tanga. He is 33 years old as of 13 August 2026. BASATA also describes his family roots as Chagga and connected to Kilimanjaro Region.
Formative Life: Schools, CBE and the Path to Music
His childhood moved between Tanga and Dar es Salaam. BASATA records primary study at Mbuyuni and Mkunguni schools, followed by Oysterbay Secondary School. He then attended the College of Business Education in Dar es Salaam, studying procurement and supplies management.
The degree is more than a stray celebrity fact. Billnass was building his music career while completing university, and a contemporary Bongo5 graduation report documented his 2017 bachelor’s graduation. That parallel path helps explain why entrepreneurship later sat naturally beside performance. Education offered a formal language for procurement and business; music supplied a public platform on which to use it.
“Raha” and the Breakthrough to National Recognition
Billnass entered professional circulation in 2014 with “Raha,” a collaboration associated with Nazizi and TID. The record introduced a young rapper willing to exchange verses across generations and borders. In 2015, the spelling “Biillnas” appeared among the Best New Artist nominees on East Africa Television’s Kilimanjaro Music Awards list. The nomination showed that his name had moved beyond a debut release into national industry attention.
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Songs including “Ligi Ndogo,” “Chafu Pozi” and “Sina Jambo” extended the early run. In 2017, MTV Base included him among its artists to watch, while Coke Studio Africa presented him as a Big Breakthrough Artist. The platform paired emerging East African performers in a televised studio setting, giving Billnass exposure beyond Tanzania and testing whether his delivery could travel without losing its linguistic character.
His earliest collaboration also connects him to a wider Tanzanian songwriting tradition. “Demu Gani” featured Barnaba Classic, whose melodic experience provided a useful counterweight to Billnass’s rap phrasing. That pattern strong vocalist, distinct rapper, shared Swahili centre would become one of the most dependable ideas in his catalogue.
Billnass Career Timeline: Key Events
Year | Event | Significance |
2014 | Releases “Raha” | Establishes his professional recording career and collaborative rap identity. |
2015 | Receives a Kilimanjaro Music Awards newcomer nomination | Marks his first documented national industry recognition. |
2017 | Appears on Coke Studio Africa and graduates from CBE | Expands his regional visibility while completing formal business education. |
2022 | Releases “Puuh” and wins Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the Tanzania Music Awards | Joins his largest crossover record with official recognition of his rap craft. |
2025 | Expands Chuo kwa Chuo and announces work on a debut album | Moves from performing at events to creating a youth-facing platform and planning a full-length statement. |
2026 | Releases “Division One” and “Hallo” | Reasserts both sides of his catalogue: competitive rap and melodic collaboration. |
“Puuh,” Awards and a Catalogue Built Through Collaboration
After the first breakthrough, Billnass developed through singles rather than albums. “Sina Jambo,” “Mazoea,” “Tagi Ubavu,” “Funga Geti,” “Mafioso,” “Bugana,” “Do Me,” “Deka,” “Utaonaje,” “Maokoto” and “Maboss” trace a rapper increasingly comfortable in several production spaces. “Maboss” with Juma Jux is especially revealing: Jux supplies polished R&B ease while Billnass keeps the record grounded in rap swagger.
The official BASATA profile records “Puuh” as a six-week Boomplay chart-topper with more than 51 million online listens. The same government profile confirms his 2022 Tanzania Music Award for Best Male Hip Hop Artist and a 2025 East African hip-hop honour at the EAEA Awards.
His selective achievements include:
A Best New Artist nomination at the 2015 Kilimanjaro Music Awards.
Selection among MTV Base’s artists to watch in 2017.
A Coke Studio Africa appearance as a Big Breakthrough Artist in 2017.
Winning Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the 2022 Tanzania Music Awards.
Building “Puuh” into his signature streaming-era collaboration.
Founding Mafioso Inc. and expanding into the Nenga Tronix electronics business.
The list is concise because his importance is not measured by trophies alone. His durability comes from remaining useful to both sides of Tanzanian popular music: he can carry a rap record himself or sharpen a melodic release with a verse.
Personal Life: Nandy, Kenaya and a Creative Partnership
Billnass is married to Tanzanian singer Nandy, born Faustina Charles Mfinanga. Their relationship has unfolded partly through music, including “Bugana,” “Do Me,” “Bye” and 2026’s “Hallo.” A Mwanaspoti report on his 2020 proposal identifies his real name as William Lyimo and records that he proposed during a live performance on the eve of his birthday.
They married in Dar es Salaam in July 2022. The couple have a daughter, Kenaya. In 2023, The Citizen reported their decision to introduce her publicly on her first birthday. Their family life remains their own, but the confirmed public record shows a partnership that overlaps with performance, songwriting and shared releases.
That overlap continued in “Hallo,” released on 26 June 2026. Billnass’s rap style and Nandy’s smoother vocal line turn the song into more than a celebrity-couple event: it is another example of his long-practised method of placing rap inside romantic Bongo Flava.
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Chuo kwa Chuo and an Emerging Impact Beyond Songs
Billnass’s influence became more organised through Chuo kwa Chuo, a campus project combining concerts, talent discovery and discussions around subjects including mental health and entrepreneurship. The project took his music into student spaces while creating opportunities for dancers, DJs and other young creatives.
In a substantial 2025 interview with The Citizen, he explained that the platform was designed rather than inherited: “Most of the time we’re invited to perform, but Chuo kwa Chuo was our vision from the start.”
The initiative also tested accountability. After controversy around one campus-stage moment, Billnass apologised publicly and described the pressure of balancing entertainment with personal boundaries. The more durable point is that Chuo kwa Chuo shifted him from booked performer to organiser. It connected his CBE education, entrepreneurial interests and youth audience in one project.
That interview supplied his clearest statement of the wider goal:
“I’ve grown with the fans. And now it’s about more than just music; it’s about building something that lasts.”
What Comes Next: “Division One,” “Hallo” and a Debut Album
Billnass opened his 2026 release chapter by returning to direct rap. XTRAfrica’s “Division One” page documents the May freestyle, while Apple Music’s current Billnass catalogue lists both “Division One” and the later “Hallo.” Together, the songs present his two main strengths without forcing them into one record.
The unanswered career question is his debut album. In the 2025 Citizen interview, he confirmed that a first full-length project was in development:
“We’re working on an album. It will be my first since I started music.”
No studio album or firm release date was publicly listed as of 13 August 2026. That makes the responsible expectation creative rather than calendar-based. Billnass has already built more than a decade of singles, collaborations and public projects; an album would need to explain how Nenga the rapper, Billnass the crossover artist and William Lyimo the organiser belong in the same long-form statement.
Billnass FAQs
What is Billnass’s real name?
His name is William Nicholaus Lyimo. He is also widely known by the nickname Nenga.
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How old is Billnass?
Billnass was born on 11 April 1993. He is 33 years old as of 13 August 2026.
Where was Billnass born?
He was born at Bombo Hospital in Tanga Region, Tanzania. BASATA describes his family heritage as Chagga, with roots in Kilimanjaro Region.
What did Billnass study?
He studied procurement and supplies management at the College of Business Education in Dar es Salaam and completed a bachelor’s degree in 2017.
Who is Billnass’s wife?
His wife is Tanzanian singer Nandy, whose full name is Faustina Charles Mfinanga. They married in July 2022.
Does Billnass have a child?
Yes. Billnass and Nandy have publicly introduced their daughter, Kenaya.
Which song made Billnass famous?
“Raha” established his early professional breakthrough, while “Puuh” with Jay Melody became his defining streaming-era hit.
What are Billnass’s biggest songs?
His best-known songs include “Raha,” “Sina Jambo,” “Mazoea,” “Bugana,” “Deka,” “Utaonaje,” “Puuh,” “Maokoto,” “Maboss,” “Boda,” “Division One” and “Hallo.”
Which award did Billnass win?
He won Best Male Hip Hop Artist at the 2022 Tanzania Music Awards. BASATA also records his 2025 EAEA recognition as East Africa’s Best Male Hip Hop Artist.
Has Billnass released an album?
No full-length studio album was publicly listed by August 2026. He confirmed in 2025 that he was working on his debut album, but no firm release date followed.
What is Chuo kwa Chuo?
Chuo kwa Chuo is Billnass’s youth-facing campus initiative, combining concerts with talent discovery and educational discussions.
What is Billnass’s latest song?
Apple Music listed “Hallo” featuring Nandy, released on 26 June 2026, as his latest release in August 2026.
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