Category: Political Rap
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Hipco: The Political Music of Liberia
Hipco songs, a style of hip-hop unique to Liberia, commonly contain political messages and imagery. It is not uncommon for hipco artists to cast aside images of wealth and prominence, contrary to the embrace of consumer culture found among modern American hip-hop artists. Christoph The Change, a distinguished hipco artist,…
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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…
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Keko Lifts up Marginalized Communities Through Her Music
By Max Bone A photo of the groundbreaking Ugandan artist Keko. Photo from Flickr In a May 2017 interview with the international news outlet PRI the Ugandan artist Keko was not afraid to speak out about who she is, and how she utilizes her popularity to advocate to issues that…
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Reason Stakes His Claim for South Africa in “Anzania”
Hip hop rappers can play an influential role in the social, political, and economic domains of the countries in which they perform. Reason, an MC living in South Africa, demonstrates his ability to not only represent his country of origin in global hip hop culture but also to send a…
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Master Soumy Brings Revolutionary Hip-Hop to Mali with “Ca ne vas pas Aller”
As hip-hop culture continues to grow in Mali, new artists are finding ways to emerge into the highly conservative society. Among them is Master Soumy, a rapper from Bomako. Born with the name Ismael Doukouré, Soumy has earned the titles of lawyer and activist. Out of twenty brothers, he was…
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Octopizzo’s “Nu Afrika”
In 2017, Kenyan rapper and youth activist Octopizzo released “Nu Afrika”, a single that came about as a result of the extremely violent rioting and political unrest in Kenya. Kenya was undergoing a brutal change of regime following the presidential election results. Before releasing “Nu Afrika”, Octopizzo (Henry Ohanga) spoke…
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Inachukua wawili
Still on the topic of the legendary Tanzanian hip-hop artists that have ensured that the religion of hip-hop did not get mixed up with the diverse content that bongo flava serves. This post will be focusing on Joseph Mbilinyi, popularly known as Mr. II (aka Sugu, 2-proud). He is recognized…
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Juliani Wants to Lead Kenyans to “Victory through Misery”
Hip hop in Kenya, as around the globe, provides an ideal platform for artists to share their perspectives surrounding issues of social and political importance to both themselves and the larger communities they represent. Through their verses, rappers and MCs have the ability to traverse across barriers to challenge those…