Category: Language
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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,Read…
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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 benchRead…
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Think before you underestimate Little Simz, she is as British as she is Nigerian and isn’t afraid to tell you why.
London-born Nigerian rapper Simbiatu “Simbi” Abisola Abiola Ajikawo, better known as Little Simz, emerged into the British rap scene years ago, and since became very popular. In 2022, she won the Brit Award for Best New Artist and the Libera Award for Best Hip-Hop/Rap Record. In her song, Point and Kill, she is “tapping intoRead…
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We The Big 3, Check The Spreadsheet
Now that African music like Afrobeats and Bongo Flava are becoming increasingly popular worldwide, more people are interested in different genres and artists across the continent. But in a male-dominated industry, there is the question: where are all of the female rap artists who are changing the game? Well in Tanzania, three artists made sureRead…
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Dip Doundou Guiss – Musiba
Dominique Preira, better known by his stage name Dip Doundou Guiss, or DIP, is a Senegalese hip-hop artist born in Dakar, Senegal. Many of DIP’s songs, including Musiba, are performed in a mix of French, the official language of Senegal, as well as Wolof, one of the many African languages spoken throughout the country, withRead…
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‘WO KUM APEM BEBA’ – Jay Bahd and the Asakaa Boyz Lead the Drill Scene in ‘Kumerica’, Ghana
Jay Bahd is one of the figure heads of the Ghanian drill, or ‘Asakaa’, music scene. Bahd and his crew, known as the ‘Asakaa Boyz’ are changing Ghanaian hiphop – mixing US inspiration with the power of a distinct Ghanaian message.
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The Sounds of Tanzania
-A brief article about the many sounds that are produced in Hip Hop. Hip Hop isn’t just a genre of music, it’s a genre that has its own style, culture, code, and language that sets it apart from all other genres. Through the use of Swahili slang & AAVE, drumming, storytelling, and rhyming, along withRead…
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HHAP Ep76: FOKN Bois on Satire and Music as Social Commentary
Ghanaian hip hop duo FOKN Bois use satire to convey important social commentary on religion, politics, and sexuality. In this episode, they share their experiences and the thoughts that have gone into music and the messages they deliver. The duo talks about their decision to rap and write in Pidgin English, which they say stems…
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HHAP EP. 75: Skilled Rhymes and the Bordertowns on the Volta: Ghana’s Keeny Ice
In this episode of The Hip-Hop in Africa Podcast, we interview Ghanaian Hip-Hop artist Keeny Ice, from the bordertown of Aflao in the Volta Region of Ghana. Keeny Ice, whose lyrics are fast-paced, and rhymes complex, mixes languages, but primarily raps in Ewe. The talented lyricist joins us for part of our special spring podcast…