The Hip Hop African

by : Maia Nelson

Hustle Pays by Liberian artist Almando featuring E.J Kollie was handed out to the world in 2022. The artist writes in his Youtube bio for the video, “This song serves as a motivation to every young and grown-up man to believe and trust in their hustle. Hustle Pays does exactly that within not only the lyrics, but with the mood, tone, and feel of the song, its visuals, and the artist themselves. As not only men but black men, supporting and encouraging the youth, it reaches their audience in a stronger and more intense way. The artist performs this song not only for the youth of the modern-day generations, and also for their own younger selves. As men, they have been through very similar or the same experiences as other young men. Many people may not understand the effects it has on a group of people and there are others who live through the world with the same perspective. This motivates and encourages other people within that group who may have felt like their experiences are alienated from the rest of everyone else. It is especially important for black men and boys to express this unity. Black males are one of the most marginalized and ridiculed groups around nations. Past traumas such as slavery, segregation, and recent protests such as Black Lives Matter have proven how unattended and poorly treated black lives are but especially black men. This is a scary world to grow up in as a black man. It has felt like for centuries that the only way a black man can succeed in living the life he wants is by always working much harder than the next man, especially if the next man is a white man. They deserve the most motivation and love in this economy.