Tag: Hip Hop and Popular Culture in Africa
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Kao Denero the “King of Freetown”
Sierra Leonean hip-hop superstar Kao Denero otherwise known as the “King of Freetown” truly embodied his name in his 2020 hit song African King. Throughout the song, Denero chronicles his rise from “the bottom” to international fame as he brings “real rap back” to the hip-hop scene (Denero 1:11). It is clear that Denero seeks…
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Cleo Ice Queen – Forever ft. Jah Prayzah
Cleo Ice Queen is a Zambian hip-hop artist who made her first nation-wide hit titled Big Dreams in 2011. She first came into the spotlight when she appeared in Big Brother Africa. Since then, she has released many songs, one of which is “Forever” featuring Jah Prayzah.” Released on the 1st of March 2019, the…
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EVA ALORDIAH – DEAF
Looking at the state of the female hip hop scene in Nigeria, there has clearly been a sharp drop in quality and quantity of content both from the established faces as well as a dearth of new faces. This is in sharp contrast to other countries in the West African bloc where there are vibrant…
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Deeply Indebted
The well known rapper SHAD is another Kenyan artist who has defied the odds. SHAD was born in Kenya in 1982 but was raised in London, Ontario. His parents moved their family to Canada when he was just a year old. His parents were Rwandan so he grew up knowing a lot about his culture.…
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Hip Hop and Pop Culture
The videos I analyzed are “Sim Dope” by South African hip hop artist AKA and “Heart” by South African pop artist Toya Delazy. I’d first like to note their similarity to American artists. In AKA’s video “Sim Dope,” at first glance you would probably think he is an American artist, being that his style is…
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Hip Hop Drum Session
Video clips of students in a drum session and rapping over African drum beats. The students are in the Hip Hop and Popular Culture in Africa class in the African Studies Department at Howard University visited Hands on Drum in Washington, DC. In addition to