Category: Hip Hop Pioneers
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HHAP Episode 34: Reggie Rockstone on the Pan African connections with Ghanaian Hiplife & Hip Hop Culture
Reggie Rockstone is one of the pioneers of hiplife in Ghana. In this conversation, he discusses how as a Pan Africanist, his perspective influenced his participation in hip hop culture in Ghana. He talks about the importance of popularizing the use of African languages through music, and how he helped to popularize the use of Twi in Ghanaian hiplife and hip hop. He discusses the importance of African languages in reaffirming pride, breaking colonial mentalities, and bridging class divides. Reggie Rockstone also talks about his own Pan Africanist upbringing, and the impact of his Diaspora experiences, as well as those of his father and African American mother.
The episode begins with Reggie Rockstone’s song “Proactive” and ends with his song “Woso”, both on his 2010 album Reggiestration, which is available on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/reggiestration/412457159.
Reggie Rockstone can be found on Instagram @reggierockstone711 and Twitter @ReggieRockstone
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A Positive Vibe Brought to the Early Beginnings of Senegal’s Hip Hop Scene
Positive Black Soul, otherwise known as PBS, arose out of Dakar, Senegal in the late 1980s. After growing up in the bustling capital, PBS had the capacity to speak the truth about the hardships local Senegalese experienced, and had people listen. After all, their melodious chords, invigorated with fast-paced rap verses, are hard to forget.
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Prophets Of Da City-Neva Again
Prophets Of Da City was a Hip Hop group in South Africa from 1988 to 2001. The group consisted of three rappers, Ready D, Shaheen and Ramone, the three black South Africans who lived in the discriminatory apartheid era. The rappers, having been social outcasts during the apartheid era were renowned for producing songs with
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HHAP Episode 3: Xuman and Keyti on Hip Hop Culture in Senegal
This episode features an interview with Senegalese hip hop pioneers and activists Xuman and Keyti. Xuman and Keyti have been active in hip hop in Senegal for over 20 years. They now host a hip hop news show called Journal Rappé on YouTube. The episode featured on this podcast features the U.S. rapper M1. Journal Rappé: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCImRGQL_sK7OHi1h823Nc0w
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PBS
Positive Black Soul is known as one of the first rap and hip-hop groups in the country of the Senegal. Based in Dakar, Senegal, the group began as a collaboration between two members from the Didier Awadi’s Syndicate and King MCs. Didier Soutou Awadi and Doug E. Tee got to together to form the group
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Black Noise
Hip hop crew Black Noise from the Cape Flats in Cape Town, South African is recognized as one of the crews that began Cape Towns ‘conscious’ hip hop scene. The other, the well known Prophets of Da City. Black Noise started out as a group of survivors from the breakdance era in South Africa. The
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Prophets of Da City’s “Never Again”: A Celebration, Motivation & Proclamation
Prophets of Da City (P.O.C.), is one of South Africa’s most influential, politically charged rap and hip hop collectives. “Their sound [which] has been described by http://www.westnet.com as ‘a devastating mix of old-skool meets new school rhythms and enough tongue-twisting rhymes to keep your head in a spin” also speaks major insight into the social
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More than just a crew: Black Noise
Formed in 1988, Black Noise came to the scene when graffiti and break dancing were acceptable forms of expression, also known as art in their communities of South Africa. Black Noise is compromised of social and political activist by the names of Emile, Gavin, Ray, Angelo, and Dennis, all of whom have no problem with
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Black Noise
Biography Black Noise is an African hip-hop group that contains survivors of the breakdance era. The group initially started out performing specifically dances and then later branched out to MCing. Through their rhymes, Black Noise decided that they wanted to share meaningful verses that would be memorable and educational. In addition, they wanted to create