Category: Wolof
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Rap duo Daara J’s “Bayi Yoon” or the “Anthem for Africans”
Senegalese rap duo Daara J are most known for their rap style and thought provoking lyricism. The group consists of N’Dongo D and Faada Freddy and the name “Daara” refers to the traditional Islamic school where children learn the Qu’ran and “how to become men.” According to Faada Freddy, the J means to sow something,…
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Senegalese Hip Hop Star: Dip Doundou Guiss
Dominique Preira, better known as Dip Doundou Guiss, is a well known Senegalese rapper. His inspiration mainly came from Positive Black Soul at a young age. As his love for music grew, he began composing his own songs and collaborated with his friend Swazi ultimately founding the group Doundou Guiss, which translates to “Live to…
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2 Post-Docs in Global Hip Hop Studies in Ireland
Two Post-Doctoral Researcher posts in Hip Hop Studies, are available at the Department of Music in the School of Film, Music, and Theatre at University College Cork. We look to hire two Post-Doctoral Researchers with specialization in the hip hop cultures of any world culture region(s) outside of Europe and North America. Especially welcome (but…
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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…
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Feminine ideals in Toussa Senerap’s work
Toussa Senerap—who’s name is a play on the French “Tous ça,” or “everything,” and an agglomeration of Senegal and Rap—plays an interesting consciousness in her work surrounding the idea of femininity. Senerap both embraces womanhood and shies away from traditional conceptualizations of femininity from both hip-hop and Senegalese contexts. For this piece, I’m primarily analyzing…
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Faux! Pas Forcé: still an anthem
Just a day or two after the vote which kept Macky Sall in power in Senegal, it’s worth revisiting one of the anthems of the movement Y’en a Marre, Faux! Pas Forcé. Y’en a Marre, which translates to “we’re fed up” in French, was a democratic civil society movement that was one of the key…
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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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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…
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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).
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Excuse my Wolof
My last article discussed Youssoupha’s album NGRTD. While reading the lyrics of his song entourage, I realized Youssoupha discussed many of the same themes MC Solaar touches on in his early albums produced some 20 years ago. While you could write a novel on the thematic similarities of African hip hop produced two decades apart,…