Category: Student Projects
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From Nairobi to the Concrete Jungle
Simon Kimini, also known as “Bamboo”, is a well known Kenyan rapper. His parents are of East African descent. Although he was raised in Inglewood, California he is still a rapper who represents Africa. When Bamboo was 17 years old his parents sent him to Nairobi. There, he was able…
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Ugandan Kween
Who is Kween G? In her new song “Who am I” posted on her Soundcloud in September 2017, the female artist gives an interesting mixing to her followers. She refers to two essential components of her life: her African origins and her desire to assert herself in a life that…
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Diaspora Rappers
Diaspora based artists like K’Naan, Blitz the Ambassador, M3nsa, Wale, and French Montana, and Tabi Bonney have been covered heavily in this blog. There are several other first and second generation African MCs around the world who have not been covered as much in this blog. As students in the…
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Wale: Bringing Afrobeat To Mainstream Hip-Hop
Wale once kicked off a track rapping the line “allow me to introduce me, my name Wale don’t say Wally.” 11 years ago that was my introduction to him. As a new resident to the DMV area at that time the magnitude of what he represented to its denizens was…
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Famous: Bringing Moroccan Culture to the United States
Moroccan rapper French Montana arrived to the South Bronx in 1996. At the time he immigrated, the rap scene in New York was incredibly popular with heavy weights such as the Notorious B.I.G, Jay Z, Nas, and Mobb Deep ruling the scene. French Montana became enamored with rap, and decided…
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K’naan the Prophet
In the diaspora, there are many parallels across the aspects of culture. Whether discussing experiences on the continent of Africa, in the United States, in Eurasia, or in Southern America, there are commonalities of reality amongst people of melanin. Carrying this idea into the world of music, it is not…
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Switching The Game Up….Trae Yung
Trae Yung is a female rapper/mc who hails from Zimbabwe’s capital of Harare. This Female MC is not one to be reckon with. Her rap is about everything,life issues such as the problems people face everyday. She doesn’t just rap about life problems but about love,street life,just life in general.
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Rap and Me
Eyirap is a well known female MC from Accra, Ghana. She is extremely talented and her song “Rap and Me” makes sure no one forgets it. Eyirap uses this song to tell the world she is the best in the game and no one can tell her otherwise. “I understand…
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Vanessa Mdee Subverts Gender Norms Through Color in Her 2016 Hit, “Cash Madame”.
2016 was the year of Beyonce’s Lemonade, Rihanna’s ANTI, and the maturation of girl groups like Little Mix and Fifth Harmony. Black women dominated the charts, producing music and music videos that allowed them to express a range of emotions, from angry to heartbroken, while exuding a sense of power,…