Category: Africa
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HHAP 89: Hip Hop Conferences & New Releases
Links and information discussed in the episode A Huis Clos, a play by French rapper Kerry James. 15 November – 3 December at Théâtre du Rond-Point in Paris France A new play by French rap legend, Kery James and French director and writer Marc Lainé. In À huis clos, Kery James plays Soulaymaan, a lawyer whose brother…
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HHAP Ep. 86: Hip Hop Events, Updates, News, & the Burna Boy/Khaligraph Jones Conversations
Events discussed in episode: August – December 2023 | Culture Curators: Hip Hop 50 | National Museum of Accra (Ghana) September 28 & 29, 2023 – Archiving Hip Hop: 50 years in the making – Milton Keynes, UK / online May 16-19, 2024 | European Hip Hop Studies Conference | Cork, Ireland In the article…
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Is Hip Hop a Weapon?!
George Kyomushula | August 11th, 2023 | Arusha Poetry Club Arumeru | Arusha – Tanzania Hiphop is a music genre made by Black folks. Culturally and artistically, it can be a weapon or shield which can cause mass destruction or healing to the community once used wisely. Unfortunately, hiphop has been used negatively to ‘PIMP…
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Hiphop as a Vessel for Black Consciousness: Digging into the artistry of Pure Akan and Elom 20ce.
Black consciousness, as propounded by N’longi Steve Biko, was a philosophical and political transformation of the mind emerging in South Africa during the 1960s and 1970s. In essence, Black consciousness sought to imbibe amongst Black people in Southern Afrika who had been subjected to systemic racism and discrimination under apartheid a sense of pride, dignity,…
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Nsɛmsɛm Bi: A Rap Collaboration with Visual Art
It is 7:40pm on the 28th of July 2023 in Accra and I arrive at the buro, a building in the city with multifaceted work spaces. I am directed to the back of the building by the security walking through an alleyway. Upon arriving, here I see the rapper Pure Akan seated on a bench…
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Stormzy’s global influence brings glory to Ghana!
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr., known professionally as Stormzy is a British born musician of Ghanaian descent. Stormzy came into popularity in the year 2014 with his freestyles and battle rapping in South London. Stormzy’s reign to popularity was interesting because not only does he rap in English, but he became one of the…
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HHAP Ep 82: Nigeria’s Loudbase AF Promoting Hip-Hop in Africa
This is the first episode in our Spring Series, which focuses on Nigeria this year. In this episode, we talked to Victor Uwakwe Izuchukwu, the founder of Loudbase AF Entertainment, a hip-hop community organization formed in Nigeria in 2018. Loudbase is a platform “for creatives in the hip-hop community to nurture and groom skills.” They…
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HHAP Ep. 80: Introducting our New Assistant Producer & more Announcements
In this short episode, we introduce you to our student assistant producer, Miranda, who will be working with us this semester. We also discuss plans for the show, plans to propose a new Hip-Hop Studies minor at Howard University, and an upcoming visit by Ghanaian hip-hop artist M.anifest. The episode starts with the song “Too…
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HHAP Ep. 79.5: Announcements and Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop
This is a short episode we recorded to send out a couple of announcements and to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.
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‘WO KUM APEM BEBA’ – Jay Bahd and the Asakaa Boyz Lead the Drill Scene in ‘Kumerica’, Ghana
Jay Bahd is one of the figure heads of the Ghanian drill, or ‘Asakaa’, music scene. Bahd and his crew, known as the ‘Asakaa Boyz’ are changing Ghanaian hiphop – mixing US inspiration with the power of a distinct Ghanaian message.