Sa Majesté Askoy’s “Cash” is influenced by American rap culture. In his music, he incorporates items Americans frequently used in US hip-hop. To point out a few, there are SUVs, fitted caps, his crew, ladies, bling, and, cash. These items have been a staple in US hip-hop videos and have influenced many African rappers and their style. Usually, we see Burkinabé rappers who are more influenced more by their African roots in music videos and lyrics, including Sa Majesté Askoy. Yet this video’s subject focuses on money and stereotypical aspects of American hip-hop. Continue reading “Burkina Faso’s Sa Majesté Askoy makes “Cash””
Category: Language
Botswana’s Dramaboi & His Artful Command of Language
Within the heart of African Hip-Hop lies a blend of cultures and traditions reflected through artful use of smooth mixtures of languages, both native and foreign, and tongues both intimate and mainstream. Thuto Ricardo Ramphaleng, more commonly known by his stage name, Dramaboi, is a young Botswanan Motswako hip-hop artist from the townships whose fluid mastery of the English language and command of his mother-tongue Zulu as well as various pigeon dialects allow him to skillfully relay deep and touching sentiments, even to those who do not fully understand all the languages spoken. In Dramaboi’s 2017 hit, Conversation with Mama, the young rapper recreates a hopeful heart-to-heart between he and his mother, switching from English to Zulu to slang with ease, always using the right phrasing, language, and dialect to make his music flavorful and his message heard. Continue reading “Botswana’s Dramaboi & His Artful Command of Language”
Saudi
Anele Mbisha, known to his fans as Saudi, was born and bred in one of Soweto’s townships, Senaone. Growing up in a family that loved music and had a large collection of records. The likes of Brenda Fassie, Michael Jackson and Nina Simone inspired him to pursue music as a career. The Twenty-one year old recorded his first song on an electronic keyboard at the age of 13. 2016 saw Saudi propelling to greater heights when he featured in the hit single “Ameni” by Miss Pru, which features Emtee, Fifi Cooper, B3nchmark, A-reece Sjava, and Saudi. As a producer and songwriter, Saudi talents played a role on A-reece it single “I couldn’t” and DJ Citi Lyts hit “Washa” featuring the ambitiouz family of artist. Following his first feature, Saudi’s debut single under Ambitiouz Entertainment “There she go” was released on the 15th of April as a free download. Continue reading “Saudi”
“Luga-flow”
Babaluku is certainly one of Uganda’s legendary Emcees. The ability to rap in an African indigenous language is a challenge that most artists avoid, however, Babaluku appears to one of the few artists that rap fluently in his native Lugandan tongue. In fact, he is the originator of the “Luga-flow” which is rap in the Ugandan native tongue. I have noticed that other artists tend to draw upon aspects of colonial English to their music but Babluku celebrates his native tongue and rolls out his words with ease and enjoyment. Continue reading ““Luga-flow””
The Writah Raps
Hip-hop is as much a literary genre as it is a musical one, and as a means of storytelling the medium of hip-hop has lent its ability to convey meaning to both traditional and modern aspects of African society. And with a mic as his pen, P.P.S. the Writah crafts lyrical masterpieces that connect Senegal’s proud traditional history with it’s push toward the future. Continue reading “The Writah Raps”
Sister Fa: A Human Rights Activist
Sister Fa, formerly known as Fatou Diatta, was born in Dakar, Senegal. She debuted her first demo tape in 2000 and officially entered the stage or West African rap. Her songs are meant to expose the realities of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). Continue reading “Sister Fa: A Human Rights Activist”
M.anifest Touches the Heart with New Single ‘Me Ne Woa’
Crowned King of Ghana Hip-Hop in 2017, M.anifest is nothing to play with. He is known for being a triple threat in the music business, as he is a rapper, singer, and songwriter. In most of his crafts he incorporates both his native tongue and English. An example of this is from one of his new songs, his single, Me No Woa (You and I) feat. King Promise. From the looks of it, this song is speaking about his grind interfering with his relationship. Apparently, he’s been gone for some time, focusing on his music career, living the life of a popular musician and neglection is surfacing… Continue reading “M.anifest Touches the Heart with New Single ‘Me Ne Woa’”
Dumi Hi Phone – Sho Madjozi
Within the African hip hop community, there are often instances in which artists leave their home country to pursue an academic career elsewhere. When they return to their country and produce hip hop, they sometimes combine their native language with English, creating a unique blend of cultural references. However, there are also times in which artists choose to rap in their native tongue, even though they possess the capability to rap English. Continue reading “Dumi Hi Phone – Sho Madjozi”
Erigga Samples Nina Simone on “Death Bed”
Nina Simone has famously been sampled by several American heavy weight rappers such as Kanye West, Talib Kweli, Common and many more. Nigerian rapper Erigga, also known as Paperboi, took a note from the greats and included Nina Simone’s “Don’t Let be Misunderstood” to serve as the background on his track “Death Bed”. Continue reading “Erigga Samples Nina Simone on “Death Bed””
Yearada Quanqua – Amharic for Slang
I have blogged about Teddy Yo the Ethiopian hip hop artist before and I have decided to raise him as a topic again. The title of this blog post is how do African rappers use their native language, slangs and other types of languages in their songs. Continue reading “Yearada Quanqua – Amharic for Slang”
