Tag: Music
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From the Slums to Fame and Inspiration
Background Henry Ohanga is a youth activist and hip hop artist. You may not know him under this name but by the end of this blog you will know who he is not only by his born name but also his more known stage name, Octopizzo. Octopizzo was born in Kibera. Kibera is is a
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The Struggle is Real
On December 1st 1983, Sierra Leone artist Soufian Kamara was born in Freetown. Soufian is better known by his stage name Souferior. At the early age of 13, Souferior came to the conclusion that he was destined for the music business. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until he went to Guinea in 1998 that he decided to
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Wanlov The Kubolor Addresses Colorism through Personal Experience in “My Skin”
Ghanaian artist Wanlov The Kubolor speaks on the effects of colorism on people in Africa and his personal experience with it in 2008 with song My Skin. The video for this song is not professionally shot, but rather just him and his camera in the comfort of his own home, so it seems. There are
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L’argot de Sénégal
“Senegal slang” signifies more than its catchy nature would insinuate. It is impossible to watch this “Y’en a marre” (enough is enough) video without recollecting Golden-Age American hip hop artists discuss social progression some 20 to 30 years after the civil rights movement. The video begins with Senegalese rapper Djily Baghdad discussing crumbling social and political institutions
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Botswanan Flow is Electric
Cashless Society AKA The Hard Cashless Society AKA THC Society highlights the collaborative efforts of Botswanan and South African Emcees Draztik, Snazz D, Black Intellect, X-Amount, Fat Free, Criminal, Tizeye, and Gemini. The music video for their 2004 track “Hottentot Hop Bantu 1, 2”, off of their album African Raw Material Vol. 1, was shot
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Straight Outta Kenya
Background Brain Robert Ouko aka Papa Jones aka Khaligraph Jones was born on June 12, 1990 in Nairobi, Kenya. To be more specific he was raised in Kayole Estate in Nairobi. Khaligraph Jones is now a popular Kenyan hip hop artist. But he wasn’t always known. He started music at a very young age, influenced
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Tanzanian Rappers, Stamina and Professor Jay, Represent in “Nawakilisha”
In their song, Stamina (ft. fellow Tanzanian rap artist, Professor Jay) exhibit heavy American influence in their hit song, Nawakilisha.
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The Queen of Kenya
Stella Nyambura, better known as STL, is one of the best Kenyan female rappers out right now.
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On the Other Side of the Tracks with Gokh-Bi System’s “Pikine”
New York, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Detroit— name a city in America and there’s sure to be artists that represent the vibrant hip-hop culture that inhabits it. The same holds true across the Atlantic in the West African nation of Senegal, and you’d be hard-pressed to find another city that embodies hip-hop culture as much as
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Ugandan Tradition of Love and Music
Navio is an artist known for pushing boundaries when it comes to Ugandan hip-hop. On his track, Njogereza, he executes the full Ugandan traditional vibe to it with borrowings from ceremonial traditional sounds. This song is full of traditional chanting and traditional instrumental. During a time when African rappers rely heavily on imitating western rappers.