Category: Nigeria
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The importance of “Johnny” by Falz
by Zainab Ahmed “Eyan melo lo ma ku?” – Falz in “Johnny” Falz released the video for his song “Johnny” on November 10th, 2020 in order to highlight the ENDSARS protests occurring across Nigeria. The video starts with showing Falz and others portray the Nigerians murdered by SARS policemen. They are covered in a pool
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Trust the vibes
From their first studio album “The Dreamer Project” (2011), Show Dem Camp have gone from underground rap duo to one of the biggest rap acts coming out of Nigeria. Composed of rappers Tec and Ghost, the duo mixtapes “The Clone Wars” have become a must have on the Nigerian rap scene and staple in any
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HHAP Ep. 79.5: Announcements and Celebrating 50 Years of Hip Hop
This is a short episode we recorded to send out a couple of announcements and to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop.
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Nigeria’s Christian Hip Hop Sound
Usually, when the discussion of Hip Hop music arises many sections of the genre are left out and overlooked. As we know today, Hip Hop consists of more than the traditional boom bap and trap sounds that are classic beats many artists use in their music. The genre hosts a myriad of artists from many
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Asake: a breath of fresh air!
by Zainab Ahmed New Nigerian superstar Asake released a collaboration, with the head of his label Yahoo Boy No Laptop Nation, Olamide. The song was released February 16, 2022 and in the song Asake and Olamide sing and rap in Yoruba and Nigerian pidgin. They talk about being braggadocios while also cautioning against feeling yourself
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She is a Savage
She is a Savage Squally Colbert She is a Savage Many call her the “Queen of Afrobeats,” iconic Nigerian singer-songwriter Tiwa Savage is a veteran in the game. Well known in the Nigerian, British and now the American music industries. Savage is a genius at fusing Afrobeats, Hip-Hop and R&B seamlessly, while gaining
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HHAP Ep 79: Hip-Hop culture as a space where Black identities are negotiated and presented
The first episode of 2023 is a special episode on hip-hop as a cultural space where Black identities can be negotiated and presented. The research project was part of a larger seminar project with the University of Maryland College Park on African/Black Diaspora Studies. The larger project was funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The overall project focused on: “the dynamics of race, ethnicity, gender, and interactions between and among first and second-generation African diaspora immigrants and native-born African Americans in the U.S.” My project explores representations of Black identities and shared experiences by African hip-hop artists in the US. The initial objective was to examine the music of 2nd generation African artists in America to understand how they Represent Black identities Discuss shared experiences Represent Africa This was done via a content analysis of their songs & interviews. The artists could be classified as Millennials and Generation Z artists. The music of these artists differed from the music produced by 1st generation African hip-hop artists. The early 2000s saw a small group of hip-hop artists who had all migrated to the US around the same time, usually for college, and would find varying degrees of success. Some of these artists stayed in the U.S., and others migrated home. Their presence was followed by an increase in African music on mainstream platforms, & collaborations between artists of 1st or 2gen African ancestry and artists of multi-generation African ancestry (African Americans). Hip-hop’s structure as a genre that is largely autobiographical lends itself to being a conduit for meaningful conversations around race, gender, sexuality, & politics. These artists were nuanced in their coverage of topics of immediate concern to other African & diaspora communities. We saw the articulation of African American & African connections among several African hip-hop artists who came to the U.S. in the early 2000s. Interestingly, many of those artists were Ghanaian. Artists like Blitz (the Ambassador) Bazawule, Wanlov the Kubolor, M3nsa, Minista of Agrikulcha, & M.anifest all arrived from a country whose place in Pan-African history had been well established. “In our simplicity we are elegant/so to us your coat and tie are irrelevant/give up my culture for your religion?, I can’t” Wanlov the Kubolor, “Gentleman” Other artists like, K’naan (Somalia), Krukid/Ruyonga (Uganda), and Shad (Kenya) also would speak to those connections. These artists may have impacted the growth of African music in the US. This growth led to the emergence of afrobeats artists like Davido, Burna Boy, Shatta Wale, & others. In looking at 2nd generation African artists, I identified 583 songs by 10 Millenial and Generation Z artists. Again, I wanted to find representations of Black identities, African identities, and shared experiences between Africans and African Americans. The artists were: Nipsey Hussle (1985): Los Angeles/African American and Eritrean parents Lola Monroe (1986): Washington, DC/Ethiopia Bas (1987): New York/Paris/Sudan Maxo Kream (1990): Houston/Nigeria Wale (1984): Washington, DC/Nigeria Amine (1994): Portland/Eritrea & Ethiopia Chika (1997): Montgomery (Alabama)/Nigeria Doja Cat (1995): Los Angeles/American and South African parents Earl Sweatshirt (1994): Chicago & Los Angeles/African American and South African parents Thutmose (1995): New York/Nigeria In the review of over 500 songs, very few had any references to African identities or shared experiences. Notable exceptions include Wale’s “My Sweetie” and Amine’s “Roots” During the research, it became clear that there needed to be a more global consideration of what African hip-hop artists are saying. There are artists in other parts of the Diaspora, especially in England, France, and Australia and they complicate Black identities even further. A more global perspective on Black identities helps us to fully understand hip hop’s role in shifting conversations around identity. Some of the European artists studied include. Sefyu (1981) France/Senegal Shay (1990) Belgium/Congo Bree Runway (1992) UK/Ghana Stormzy (1993) UK/Ghana Niska (1994) France/Congo Enny (1994) UK/Nigeria Little Simz (1994) UK/Nigeria Shaybo (1996) UK/Nigeria J Hus (1996) UK/The Gambia The songs played in this episode are “My Sweetie” by Wale “Roots” by Amine “I Want” by Enny “Woman” by Little Simz “En noir et blanc” by Sefyu “Gentleman” by M.anifest and Wanlov the Kubolor “Dollar & a Dream” by Blitz the Ambassador
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Mixtape: Social Justice Within Africa
Introduction Africa is no stranger to protesting wrongdoings in their society. For decades countries have been protesting corruption, health issues, wealth distribution, racism, and police brutality. Yes, police brutality too. It may come shocking to some because why would countries of majority one race have these issues but they are there and exist unfortunately. Artists
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Final Project: Mixtape
Social and Political issues/change For my mixtape, the following themes were selected: Social and Political change. Social and political issues continue to plague many parts of the world where corruption, police brutality, poverty, and unemployment plague many people. While this is a universal issue, the focus of this mixtape will be African rappers and the
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Mixtape: The African Queens of Hip-Hop
Introduction Throughout the hip-hop industry women are constantly fighting to come up on top, no matter what country or continent they are on. With the patriarchal structure, it is usually difficult for women to make music the way they would prefer or most resembles who they are because they fear it will not be received