The Hip Hop African

Rapping has inherently become a part of Ethiopian culture, specifically rapping in Amharic which is the native language. In Ethiopia, Tigrenne and Oromo are also spoken but not as frequently in rap. Popular rappers like DJ Same want upcoming rappers to use Amharic because they believe it shows how proud they are of their country and their resistance to colonialism. I chose to review Ella Man’s video which is in Arabic. Ella Man is a rapper from Ethiopia who specializes in Batsach music. According to his youtube channel he produces. new videos weekly. In addition to performing Batsach music he focuses on traditional Ethiopian music as well. His first video was posted in 2014 and is a remix to the American rapper, Ace Hood’s song, “Bugatti.” Here it is clear that his muse comes from American rappers. However the video I am reviewing is completely original. This video/ song, “Le Tezeta,” is clearly about a relationship between a male and a female. You can tell there are two different perspectives on what occurred in the relationship. The rapper, Ella Man seems to be trying to explain his side. He appears emotional but rational. However, the female looks very distraught. In the video, she is sitting at home waiting for him to arrive and when he finally does she becomes enraged. Anger washes over her face. The rapper, Ella Man is trying to explain but she is not having it. The background in the video definitely surprised me. It looks extremely similar to my home. I enjoyed seeing the art on the walls. The video also resembled many American rappers with the drastic change from day to night. Overall, I would recommend that others watch this video. However, I wish I could have better understood what was occurring but language was a definite barrier.