Category: France
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Changing the African Narrative: Aya Nakamura
Aya Nakamura has been writing and releasing music on Youtube since 2016[1]; the Mali-born French musician would make her entrance into the international music scene in 2018 with the release of her second album, NAKAMURA. This album gained international popularity with the hit song “Djadja.” In an interview with The Guardian[2], the artist elaborates onRead…
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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 countryRead…
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Bas and the internationalization of hip-hop
Bas, a New York City-based rapper with French roots and Sudanese parents, is a prominent member of the American hip-hop scene. He has contributed to numerous incredibly popular projects, including “Boca Raton” along with A$AP Ferg, the J-Cole headliner “Tribe,” and “Costa Rica” with the rest of J-Cole’s Dreamville label. These songs are quintessential AmericanRead…
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HHAP EPISODE 56: LORD EKOMY NDONG ON GABONESE HIP-HOP & FRENCH POLITICS (Video)
This is the video of our interview with Lord Ekomy Ndong. The video was originally posted on our YouTube channel.
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HHAP Episode 56: Lord Ekomy Ndong on Gabonese Hip-Hop & French Politics
Lord Ekomy Ndong, has been a leading voice in the African hip hop scene since 1990, when he founded the Gabonese group Movaizhaleine. Movaizhaleine’s 1999 debut album was Mission Mbeng. He released his 1st solo album, L’Afrikain, in 2003. It is considered by many to be a hip-hop classic. Over his career, he has done…
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HHAP Episode 52: Medusa, Navigating Hip Hop in Tunisia & France
Medusa is a Tunisian artist who emerged as an MC in Tunisia’s hip hop community around the time of the Arab Spring of the 2010s. Her career as an MC has followed an interesting path, as she often found herself in the role of “conscious MC”, being one of the few women in the Tunisian…
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Senegalese Hip Hop Star: Dip Doundou Guiss
Dominique Preira, better known as Dip Doundou Guiss, is a well known Senegalese rapper. His inspiration mainly came from Positive Black Soul at a young age. As his love for music grew, he began composing his own songs and collaborated with his friend Swazi ultimately founding the group Doundou Guiss, which translates to “Live toRead…
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Diaspora Rappers
Diaspora based artists like K’Naan, Blitz the Ambassador, M3nsa, Wale, and French Montana, and Tabi Bonney have been covered heavily in this blog. There are several other first and second generation African MCs around the world who have not been covered as much in this blog. As students in the Hip Hop and Social ChangeRead…
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Senegal Hip Hop | SEFYU – Suis-je le gardien de mon frère ?
For this blog post, I examined “SEFYU – Suis-je le garden de mon frère?” I am my brothers keeper. I believe the story was well developed throughout the video. Although I do not think it depicted Senegalese culture very well. Majority of the video reminded me of every day American culture in the ghetto. From theRead…
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African Hip Hop Film Series
This winter California State University, Los Angeles is holding an African Hip Hop Film Series. The films feature hip hop scenes from all over Africa, including Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, and Uganda. All films are free and open to the public. For more information contact Msia Clark @ mclark7@calstatela.edu.