A blog and podcast on hip hop in Africa
Christoph, Liberia’s upcoming hipco (Liberian hip-hop) artist is gaining popularity with his crisp style and hot verses. Aside from his attractive looks and charismatic personality, he has made great contributions to the Liberian hip-hop community. He stays true to his identity by rapping in koloqua (Liberia’s Local dialect) so that his people can understand his music. Continue reading “Hipco Artist Christoph stays true to his native liberian dialect”
Liberia’s well known hip hop artists Mdot, migrated to the United States when he was just four years old. Although he left his native country at a young age, he uses his platform in Philadelphia to recount the horrifying nature of the Liberian civil war.
In a sense, Mdot serves as a voice for those who struggled during the conflict and afterward. He mainly raps in standard English, rather than koloqua(liberia’s local patois), so both Liberians and Americans are able to enjoy his music. His sepia colored memory of the continent and his experiences in America helps to shape his lyrical purpose. Mdot’s themes about Liberia, his impoverished environment in Philadelphia, and the daily struggle of being black in America, creates highly relatable lyrics that resonates with a wide audience. Continue reading “Liberian’s American Based Artist Stays True to the Diaspora”
It is not a great surprise that there aren’t many Liberian Femcees with a platform as compared to their male counterparts; after all hip hop is male a dominated genre. Many Liberian female rappers fear not being taken seriously or being seen as “valid” in the eyes of male emcees. The sad reality of this is correlated to the stereotypes about women that society perpetuates.
In almost every culture, women are ether oversexualized and treated as sex objects, or they are forced into a shell that prevents them from being sexual beings in the same way that men are. Unfortunately, women who rebel against these gender norms are heavily ostracized. Continue reading “Liberian Femcee Diamond Chanel Rebels Against Gender Norms”
Hipco artists Luckay Buckay, Takun J, JD Donzo, and Bentman Tha Don demand attention from the president with their genius collaboration in “Pot Not Boiling”, a song that aims several shots at Liberia’s corrupt regime. Each artist speaks on different aspects of the struggle, adding to a raw and collective narrative that resonates deeply with the population. Footages from the “Pot Not Boiling” video highlight the saddening reality of daily life in Liberia. Continue reading “Hipco Artists Collaborate to Expose Troubling Realities Facing Liberians”
The demoralizing transition from a beautiful country turned upside by civil conflict and government corruption, left their mark on the people of Liberia. During the war, cannibalism became the new norm, corpses became the new terra firma, and children were traumatically stripped of their innocence. The nation’s young ones were abducted, brainwashed and turned into soldiers and sex slaves. This experience and the insufferable conditions that followed were undeniably breeding grounds for the emergence of Hip-Hop culture in Liberia. Continue reading “Liberia’s Lyrical Mastermind: Bucky Raw”
