Category: Ghana
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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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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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MIXTAPE TOWARDS A NEW CONSCIOUSNESS: Exploring Asakaa, Alt Hip Hop, & Trap Politics
This mixtape explores the social and political themes of songs from Ghana’s trap, drill (Asakaa), and alternative hip hop subgenres to find “conscious” hip hop is not its own genre, but rather a thematic standard that can exist in all kinds of rap. Featured songs in order: Snakes by La Même Gang; Wasteman by Black…
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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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ENO BARONY: GHANA’S RAP GODDESS
Born Ruth Eno Adjoa Amankwah Nyame Adom in Tema, Accra, Ghana to missionary parents, Eno Barony’s rise to fame began in 2014 when her first single ‘Tonga’ received commercial airplay. In 2021, she became the first Ghanian female rapper to win Best Rapper at the Ghana Music Awards, beating Sarkodie, Amerado, Medikal, Strongman and Joey…
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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…
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Who is Black Sherif?
Mohammed Ismail Sherif Kwaku Frimpong, better known as Black Sherif, is a Ghanaian rapper from the town of Konongo-Zongo, Ghana. While there are many Ghanaian drill rappers on the rise, Black Sherif has been gaining the most amount of popularity in the Ghanaian rap/drill category. Many may ask, what makes Black Sherif so memorable and…