Category: Gambia
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The UK through the lens of The African diaspora
For this mixtape, I focused on the modern rap scene in the United Kingdom, more specifically England. All of the artists in the mixtape are born to African parents and speak about their struggles living in the UK as young Black people but still being proud of their heritage. Much like the United States, the
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Ear to the streets
Gambian and Ghanaian UK rapper, J Hus ,has his ear to the streets with his song “must be“. Just by listening to the first verse of the song, you can tell how it reflects current rap culture. With a topic such as someone being an opp, it is very telling of who this song is
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Borders: What are they good for? Senegalese and Gambian Hip Hop
In this episode two students discuss hip hop in The Gambia and in Senegal. The two discuss the unique situation of The Gambia and Senegal and how the imposition of a border across the wolof culture has affected the music scene there. In the podcast, three artists are discussed: Y’en a Marre, Bai Babu, and T Smallz. The podcast begins talking about language, then moves to discussing differences in politicization of hip hop across the Senegambian region, and then wraps up with a discussion of gender rolls. Also discussed is the unique, continuing role of griot families in modern music.
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Jizzle D Lyrical Kiddo
Born in Bakau in The Gambia in 1989, Jerreh Jallow, popularly called Jizzle D Lyrical Kiddo is a dancehall and rap artist. He majors in rap but occasionally sings dancehall. He sings in three West African languages namely Fula, Mandingo and Wolof. In his song Alagie he mixes English with one of the three languages
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Young Fedora
Say’hu is a Gambian American hip-hop recording artist from Charlotte, North Carolina. His music stresses the issues of capitalism, poverty, and war and is often loaded with witty metaphors and heart felt messages that everyone can relate to. With hip-hop being his musical root and most important source of inspiration, he says artist such as
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The Dancehall Diva
Sophia Byass is a rapper, dancehall singer, and songwriter from Gambia. She was born on March 26, 1993. She started music at a young age at a local church choir after graduating from senior secondary school. Her distinctive voice, captivating stage acts and vocal skills continue to earn her huge number of fans each time
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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 Change
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Power of Freedom
In Retsam’s, real name Jerreh Badjie, song power of freedom he expresses that the people of Gambia should have the rights stated in their constitution. He also demands Jammeh must go. When Badjie made the song, President Yahya Jammeh (some would call him their Dictator) was ruling the country with an iron fist – imprisoning
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Mighty Joe
In his song They Say he talks about his haters and how they can not hold him back. He talks about how no matter what they say that he will always do it his way. In the music video you can see places around Gambia and the people there as well. The video is shot in
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My Motherland Is Not A Jungle: Africa Through Say’hu’s Eyes
I decided to choose an artist whose name I did not hear much in the class. The title of Say’hu’s song, “Motherland” drew my attention because everybody has their own opinion as to what their motherland is or what the term means to them. To me, my motherland is where myself and my family originate