Category: Diaspora Emcees
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HHAP Ep. 81: M.anifest: From Madina to the Mecca
On the 15th of February, 2023, M.anifest visited Howard University, aka The Mecca, for a historical conversation around the importance of his music and Hip Hop culture as we celebrate 50 years of Hip Hop. M.anifest is one of the most prolific MCs of his generation and came for a conversation at one of the world’s most historic Black institutions of higher education. Of M.anifest, the media has called him… “the foremost rapper on the continent.” – The Guardian (2012) M.anifest’s first two albums were released while he was in the U.S., where he was part of a generation of African MCs influencing the “underground” hip-hop scene at the time. In the mid-2000s, M.anifest, along with artists like Blitz (the Ambassador) Bazawule and K’Naan, marked the first time that so many African MCs would make an impact on the underground hip hop scene in the U.S., paving the way for the entry into the mainstream of afrobeats artists a decade later. Since M.anifest’s return to Ghana in 2012, he has become an important voice in West African music. He has released several projects and earned recognition at the Ghana Music Awards and the Channel O Music Awards. His collaborations have included songs with artists as diverse as Erykah Badu, Burna Boy, and Vic Mensa. He was recently among the handful of artists that headlined the January 2023 Black Star Line Festival in Ghana hosted by Chance the Rapper and Vic Mensa.
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HHAP Ep 79: Hip-Hop culture as a space where Black identities are negotiated and presented
The first episode of 2023 is a special episode on hip-hop as a cultural space where Black identities can be negotiated and presented. The research project was part of a larger seminar project with the University of Maryland College Park on African/Black Diaspora Studies. The larger project was funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The overall project focused on: “the dynamics of race, ethnicity, gender, and interactions between and among first and second-generation African diaspora immigrants and native-born African Americans in the U.S.” My project explores representations of Black identities and shared experiences by African hip-hop artists in the US. The initial objective was to examine the music of 2nd generation African artists in America to understand how they Represent Black identities Discuss shared experiences Represent Africa This was done via a content analysis of their songs & interviews. The artists could be classified as Millennials and Generation Z artists. The music of these artists differed from the music produced by 1st generation African hip-hop artists. The early 2000s saw a small group of hip-hop artists who had all migrated to the US around the same time, usually for college, and would find varying degrees of success. Some of these artists stayed in the U.S., and others migrated home. Their presence was followed by an increase in African music on mainstream platforms, & collaborations between artists of 1st or 2gen African ancestry and artists of multi-generation African ancestry (African Americans). Hip-hop’s structure as a genre that is largely autobiographical lends itself to being a conduit for meaningful conversations around race, gender, sexuality, & politics. These artists were nuanced in their coverage of topics of immediate concern to other African & diaspora communities. We saw the articulation of African American & African connections among several African hip-hop artists who came to the U.S. in the early 2000s. Interestingly, many of those artists were Ghanaian. Artists like Blitz (the Ambassador) Bazawule, Wanlov the Kubolor, M3nsa, Minista of Agrikulcha, & M.anifest all arrived from a country whose place in Pan-African history had been well established. “In our simplicity we are elegant/so to us your coat and tie are irrelevant/give up my culture for your religion?, I can’t” Wanlov the Kubolor, “Gentleman” Other artists like, K’naan (Somalia), Krukid/Ruyonga (Uganda), and Shad (Kenya) also would speak to those connections. These artists may have impacted the growth of African music in the US. This growth led to the emergence of afrobeats artists like Davido, Burna Boy, Shatta Wale, & others. In looking at 2nd generation African artists, I identified 583 songs by 10 Millenial and Generation Z artists. Again, I wanted to find representations of Black identities, African identities, and shared experiences between Africans and African Americans. The artists were: Nipsey Hussle (1985): Los Angeles/African American and Eritrean parents Lola Monroe (1986): Washington, DC/Ethiopia Bas (1987): New York/Paris/Sudan Maxo Kream (1990): Houston/Nigeria Wale (1984): Washington, DC/Nigeria Amine (1994): Portland/Eritrea & Ethiopia Chika (1997): Montgomery (Alabama)/Nigeria Doja Cat (1995): Los Angeles/American and South African parents Earl Sweatshirt (1994): Chicago & Los Angeles/African American and South African parents Thutmose (1995): New York/Nigeria In the review of over 500 songs, very few had any references to African identities or shared experiences. Notable exceptions include Wale’s “My Sweetie” and Amine’s “Roots” During the research, it became clear that there needed to be a more global consideration of what African hip-hop artists are saying. There are artists in other parts of the Diaspora, especially in England, France, and Australia and they complicate Black identities even further. A more global perspective on Black identities helps us to fully understand hip hop’s role in shifting conversations around identity. Some of the European artists studied include. Sefyu (1981) France/Senegal Shay (1990) Belgium/Congo Bree Runway (1992) UK/Ghana Stormzy (1993) UK/Ghana Niska (1994) France/Congo Enny (1994) UK/Nigeria Little Simz (1994) UK/Nigeria Shaybo (1996) UK/Nigeria J Hus (1996) UK/The Gambia The songs played in this episode are “My Sweetie” by Wale “Roots” by Amine “I Want” by Enny “Woman” by Little Simz “En noir et blanc” by Sefyu “Gentleman” by M.anifest and Wanlov the Kubolor “Dollar & a Dream” by Blitz the Ambassador
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Final Project: Mixtape
Social and Political issues/change For my mixtape, the following themes were selected: Social and Political change. Social and political issues continue to plague many parts of the world where corruption, police brutality, poverty, and unemployment plague many people. While this is a universal issue, the focus of this mixtape will be African rappers and the
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Jamz with Joc Women’s Impact in African Hip Hop
This podcast covers topics of women in Hip Hop in both the African and American industries. This podcast highlights topics of female empowerment, how African hip hop artists culturally impact their listeners, and methods of relating genuine topics to platforms and fan bases. The purpose of this podcast was to introduce new African female artists
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Mixtape: The African Queens of Hip-Hop
Introduction Throughout the hip-hop industry women are constantly fighting to come up on top, no matter what country or continent they are on. With the patriarchal structure, it is usually difficult for women to make music the way they would prefer or most resembles who they are because they fear it will not be received
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Final Project Mixtape
Across the world, the hip-hop community is very male-dominated and now in the current years more female artists are breaking the barrier by becoming as successful as male rappers. Many African women rappers are coming into fame and are making music to empower women and make them feel more confident with themselves. Since the hip-hop
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Behind the Lines Podcast: Themes of Hip Hop Today
This is the Behind the Lines Podcast with Charisma & K. Woo where we look beyond the lyrics and verses to understand what Hip Hop today is really about. The first episode features rapper Banwo Music in an interview and discussion on the topics of social justice and braggadocio. Banwo & his music can be
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Bas
Legendary artist Bas is the product of Sudanese immigrant parents making the rapper Sudanese American. He is most well-known for his affiliation with the Dreamville record label, and his popular tracks such as “Night Job” and “The Jackie”. Bas has served as an excellent example of African rappers that are not based within their country
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Wande – “Naija Bit”
Mutiat Yewande Isola is a Nigerian-born female hip-hop artist, who goes more commonly by the name Wande. She was born in Nigeria in 1996 making her 26 years of age. For the most part, she grew up in Austin, Texas, and was signed to Reach Records in 2019. In her song “Woo” she expounds upon
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Nipsey Hussle’s Eritrean Roots
Nipsey Hustle was born Airmeiess “Ermias” Joseph Asghedom in the Crenshaw district of South Los Angeles, California on August 15th, 1985. His mother Angelique Smith, an African American woman from L.A., and father Dawit Asghedom, an Eritrean immigrant, are alive and currently live in L.A. Eritrea is a former Italian colony and now exists as