A blog and podcast on hip hop in Africa
In this interview M.anifest talks about his return to Ghana and his experiences in both the US and Ghana. As an artist whose music reflects Ghanaian, African, and Diaspora experiences and cultures, M.anifest brings an important level of intellectual complexity to hip hop culture. When I point these things out in the interview, M.anifest says that he does not want to “be an alternative to the mainstream, but to be an alternative in the mainstream”.
In the interview M.anifest talks about how his return (& his experiences in both the US and Ghana) has been reflected in his music. He discusses the music industries & creative scenes in the US and in Ghana, African MCs in the US hip hop scene, his impact on the hip hop & music scene in Ghana, and his collaborations with other artists, including the late South African hip hop artist, Hip Hop Pantsula (HHP).
In this episode we begin with a look back, musically, at Manifest’s career. We begin with the song “Africa Represent” from his 2007 album Manifestations, then “Motion Picture” from the 2011 album Immigrant Chronicles: Coming to America, and his 2016 single “God MC”. We will end the show with the song “Hand Dey Go, Hand Dey Come” from his 2016 album Nowhere Cool.
Website: http://manifestmc.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/manifestations/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/manifestive
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/manifestmc
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manifestive/
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/m-anifest/1377111213
Wakazi is a bilingual Tanzanian hip hop artist. He grew up in Dar es Salaam, but spent several years in the United States, where he was active in the Chicago hip hop scene. Like many MCs who spend several years abroad, when he returned to Tanzania he had to prove himself on the local scene. He was able to craft his brand, largely by harnessing the power of social media. In this interview, Wakazi talks about his experiences in Chicago, with the local hip hop scene and how his experiences there have impacted his career. He discusses his return to Tanzania, the reception he faced on his return, and how has managed to build his career. Wakazi, who is fluent in English and Swahili, also talks about multilingualism, and the use of other Tanzanian languages in hip hop. Wakazi also reflects on some of the struggles within the hip hop community, some of which he feels is largely due to a lack of mentorship by the first generation of Tanzanian hip hop artists. He also discusses perceptions & understandings of African American culture in Tanzania.
Wakazi’s music can be purchased on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/wakazi/928220403
Nomadic Wax Super MC: https://nomadicwax.bandcamp.com/track/super-mc-v2
Wakazi is online at
Twitter @Wakazi: https://twitter.com/Wakazi
Facebook @wakazimusic: https://www.facebook.com/wakazimusic/
Instagram @wakazimusic: https://www.instagram.com/wakazimusic/
Youtube @wakazimusic: https://www.youtube.com/user/WakaziMusic
Wachata Crew is the biggest, and oldest graffiti crew in Tanzania. With more than a decade of experience, the members of Wachata Crew are established and respected members of the hip hop scene in Tanzania. The members of Wachata are Local Fanatics, Kala Singa, Medi, and Mejah.
We met up at their studios at Nafasi Art Space (nafasiartspace.org) in Dar es Salaam and talked about graffiti culture in Tanzania. We discussed the origins of Wachata Crew with WAPI (Words and Pictures) at the British Council in Dar es Salaam back in 2007. Wachata Crew sheds light on how many Tanzanians see graffiti culture in Tanzania and the connections between graffiti and hip-hop culture in Tanzania.
Graffiti culture differs all over the world, the members of Wachata Crew talk about the cost and qualities of spray paint cans in Tanzania, v. other places. The artists also discuss their connections with graffiti beyond Tanzania, and the participation of women in graffiti culture in Tanzania.
You can find Wachata Crew on Instagram @wachata07 and each member at @muabaka, @kalasinga24, @mejahmbuya, @localfanatics
This is an interview with Tanzanian hip hop producer Duke, founder of M Lab records, Tamaduni Muzik, and the Hip Hop Kilinge (cypher). The interview is mostly in SWAHILI, but we switch back & forth a lot. The Hip Hop African podcast celebrates the various elements of hip hop, but this is our first interview with a hip hop producer.
Duke talks about how he became involved in hip hop in Tanzania, his involvement with the founding of Tamaduni Muzik and the Hip Hop Kilinge (cyphers) they used to host. These cyphers used to bring hundreds of youth from around Dar es Salaam to listen to the DJs, hear MC rhyme, participate in cyphers, buy hip hop fashion made by local artists. Duke also talks about issue of copyright and the art of sampling and the role of the producer in hip hop. We also discuss sounds, the role of the boom bap sound, as well as chopping up other sounds to create a unique sound that represents Tanzanian hip hop. He also talks about the top five artists outside of Tanzania that he would love to work with, as well the directions he sees hip hop in Tanzania going today.
Haya ni mahojiano na Duke, prodyuza wa muziki wa hip hop Tanzania, mwanzilishi wa M Lab Records, Tamaduni Muzik, na Hip Hop Kilinge (cypher). Mahojiano yako zaidi katika SWAHILI, lakini tumechanganya na English kidogo. The Hip Hop African Podast inawakilisha nguzo mbalimbali za hip hop, lakini haya ni mahojiano yetu ya kwanza na prodyuza wa hip hop.
Duke anazungumzia jinsi alivyohusika katika hip hop nchini Tanzania, kushiriki kwake na kuanzishwa kwa Tamaduni Muzik na Hip Hop Kilinge. Kwenye Kilinge, vijana vyengi kutoka Dar es Salaam walikuja kusikiliza muziki uliochezwa na DJs, kusikia sauti ya MC, kushiriki katika cyphers, kununua bidhaa za mitindo ya hip hop. Duke pia anazungumzia suala la hakimiliki na sanaa ya sampling na jukumu la prodyuza katika hip hop. Tulizungumzia pia sauti ya boom bap, na pia kuchop sauti nyingine ili kutengeneza sauti ya kipekee ambayo inawakilisha hip hop ya Tanzania. Pia anazungumzia kuhusu MCs watano wa nje ya Tanzania ambao angependa kufanya kazi nao. Pia tulizungumzia muelekeo wa Hiphop ya Tanzania katika nyakati hizi.
Ghana born, Bronx raised hip hop scholar Joseph Ewoodzie has published the book Break Beats in the Bronx: Rediscovering Hip-Hop’s Early Years, a book that uncovers details of hip hop’s early years in the South Bronx. Ewoodzie’s book provides rich details of hip hop’s history in the South Bronx. In this interview he discusses his decision to write the book and touches on some of the major themes the book addresses. For example, Ewoodzie talks about the social economic environment in the South Bronx that gave rise to hip hop, environments that mirrored the environments that gave rise to hip hop in Africa.
In the interview we also cover the book’s
Discussion of the link between gang culture and hip hop
The controversies around Afrika Bambaataa
The rise and decline of the visibility of the DJ in mainstream hip hop
The connection between hip hop culture and Africa’s oral tradition
The connections between music in Africa and the Diaspora
South Bronx Ghanaian immigrants in the development of hip hop
The origins of the masculinization of hip hop
The book can be purchased at: uncpress.org/book/9781469632759/break-beats-in-the-bronx
Joseph Ewoodzie can be followed on Twitter at twitter.com/piko_e
March 29-31, 2019 | Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut
For more information: Facebook.com/trinityhiphop
The form can be downloaded from Dropbox
Presented in partnership with Trinity College, the City of Hartford, Nomadic Wax and Notable Productions.
CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS
The Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival and Conference is seeking submissions for performers and presenters for their 14th annual event to be held at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut on March 29-31, 2019. This year’s theme is “Hip Hop: Transcend the Norm”. How can you be unique in a culture where anyone can record and video themselves and post it online? Fame can come quickly, but how does one transcend fame to build a career and deliver a message? How does hip hop allow you to transcend?
Submissions focused on these topics are preferred, although anyone is able to apply with presentations/performances centered on social or political change, hip hop education, hip hop history or similar.
Submissions will be accepted in the following categories: Performers (hip hop artists, MCs and/or DJs), presenters (lecture or workshop), panel discussions, film screenings, dance groups/judges (b-boy/b-girl and all styles), graffiti artists, spoken word artists, music producers, and hip hop photographers.
About the Festival
The festival was started by students as a way to unite disparate communities – academic, racial and economic – using hip hop culture in all of its forms and drawing from the international hip hop community. The festival has grown to become an annual meeting place for champions of social change: professors and students, artists and activists, educators and event promoters, and people from all manner of hip hop related grassroots and non-profit organizations descend on Hartford for several days of connecting, learning, sharing and inspiring each other.
In the last thirteen years, we have hosted artists and presenters from over 50 countries. Although many of the people did not know each other coming in, as one first time attendee put it, “It felt like a family reunion!” A strong tie exists between attendees from shared beliefs in hip hop culture and social awareness. Everyone leaves feeling energized, inspired and more connected to fellow practitioners from around the world.
Each festival also runs concurrently with a one-day youth conference, sponsored by the City of Hartford. Hartford-area teens meet in their own “youth only” events, and also sit in on some of the open panels and performances. Hip hop artists – who would perform later that night – teach groups of students about beatboxing, freestyling, a variety of dance forms and more. This youth outreach continues to grow and strengthen the college-community bond.
PRESENTERS:
Please submit up to 300-word proposal for a presentation of scholarly work, lecture, panel discussion, workshop, or a film screening at the festival. Please include the type of presentation you are proposing, any technical requirements plus name and contact information. Film proposals should include film length and a link to the trailer (if possible). Submit your proposal to trinityinternationalhiphop@gmail.com Due Wednesday November 21st, 2018.
PERFORMERS: Please submit artist/group information, EPK, links to web site and live performance videos (if possible). We are only able to book 7-8 groups each year and seek to balance by countries of origin, languages and gender with a mix of live bands and MC/DJ combos. Artists who can also provide a presentation (see above) is a plus, but not required.
Submit your proposal to trinityinternationalhiphop@gmail.com Due Wednesday November 21st, 2018.
Notices indicating the acceptance of your submission will be sent by Friday December 21st, 2018
This episode is a conversation with Malian hip hop artist and activist Amkoullel L’enfant Peulh on hip hop and politics in Mali. Amkoullel has been involved in hip hop culture in Mali for many years, and he’s been vocal about politics inside and outside of the country. Having lived in France and the United States, Amkoullel is back in Mali where he remains involved in the hip hop community. He is also involved in mentoring artists and working in TV and radio production and distribution in Mali.
A strong voice in Malian hip hop, in this conversation we discuss the political nature of Francophone rap in West Africa, specifically in Mali, Senegal, and Burkina Faso. Amkoullel traces how hip hop artists in Mali developed their own lyrical identity, based in large part on their own oral traditions and cultural identities.
In discussing the past and current political events in Mali, Amkoullel talks about the roles of artists in social change and the importance of artists representing the voice of the people when they use their platform on the international stage. Amkoullel also discusses the impacts of the media’s misconceptions of Mali within the country, as well as the impact of political events in Mali on Malian hip hop.
We begin the episode with one of Amkoullel’s early songs, “Farafina”, which was released in 2010.
The next song is “Maliko”, which was recorded by several Malian musicians, including Amkoullel. The song is a call for peace and an end to violence against women.
Amkoullel is on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amkoullel_a.k.a._ez_ba/
In this episode we speak with Ghanian-born, U.S. based artist Laura Lora. In the interview, Laura Lora talks about her experiences an artist, navigating between Ghana and the United States. Growing up in Los Angeles has definitely influenced her music and style, as she talks about being Ghanian and American. Laura Lora, who majored in Black Studies in college, also talks about her experiences in the African American community, and with the divide between Africans and Africans Americans in the United States.
Her music and work has also placed her in conversations around gender and sexuality, where she chooses to confront ideas on how African, or Ghanian women should dress and behave. In this interview she also addresses ideas of beauty and femininity, which she has also chosen to challenge.
Laura Lora is very conscious and intentional about her music, and the messages she wants to send. She is very intentional about her confrontations with gender and identity. Her most recent video for the song “Rebel” blends hip hop, femininity, Ghanian ascetics, and American sounds and visuals. The colorful video is clear in its expression of all of these identities.
You can find Laura lora on:
lauraloramusic.com
SoundCloud @lauraloramusic
Facebook @Lauraloramusic
Instagram @Mslauraloa
Twitter @akaDeviantLady
This is a short video created for one of our classes to show the similarities in contemporary dance in African & African American cultures. It looks at dances like azonto, the Harlem shake, eskista, hit the Quan, gwara gwara, & others. We’re posting it in hopes that it can be a resource for others.
