Tag: octopizzo
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Kilos On Kilos – Octopizzo
Henry Ohanga, stage name Octopizzo, is a big name in the rap industry. His art is primarily influenced by his childhood in the slums of Kibera, Nairobi. He uses his platform through his music and his non-profit Octopizzo Foundation to give youths and refugees the opportunities and resources to explore their creativity. In his music,
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Tom Mboya – by Octopizzo
Octopizzo utilizes his originality and unique dope flow to honor the great Thomas Joseph Odhiambo Mboya. This musical statement uses diction, relevant subject matter, cadence, lyricism, wordplay, poetry, creativity, social consciousness, and culture to tell a story. His audio and video presentation takes the audience on a journey through his personal lens and visions. Octopizzo
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HHAP Episode 57: Octopizzo on Hip Hop, Refugees, and POlice Brutality in Kenya
An MC, activist, and actor, Octopizzo was born in Nairobi, in the notorious Kibera slums, one of the largest slums in the world. His mixtape and album releases include: The Come Up V 1 (2008; Mixtape), El Classico (2014; Mixtape), Chocolate City (2014; album), LDPC (2015; album), Refugeenius (2016, album), and Next Year (2018; album). He addresses a lot of social issues, including poverty, ethnic tensions, corruption, and the legalization of marijuana. He is also one of the few MCs to seriously and consistently address the issues around refugees. Kenya is home to a lot of refugees from surrounding conflicts, including people fleeing violence in the Congo, Sudan and Somalia. On the album Refugeenius he collaborated with 20 Refugees from Kakuma & Dadaab Refugee camps in Kenya. Octopizzo is the founder of the youth group Y.G.B. (Young, Gifted, and Black), which is a collective of MCs, poets, graffiti artists, graphic artists, and dancers. He founded his not-for-profit Octopizzo Foundation in 2015 and through the Foundation, he tries to use culture and sports to reach the youth. More recently he has joined other activists addressing police brutality in Kenya, and drawing parallels between police violence in Kenya & the US. Recently he was involved in protests in front of the US embassy in Nairobi, holding up a sign of people killed and injured by the police. Recently, there have ben reports of over a dozen deaths at the hands of the Kenyan police supposedly trying to enforce a dusk to dawn curfew put in place to slow the spread of Corona. The songs featured in the episode are “Nu Afrika” in the opening and “Another Day” in the closing. Octopizzo can be found at: http://octopizzo.com/ | @OCTOPIZZO on Twitter & Instagram The video version of this episode is on our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/ZOu5ILtZ-Vc
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Octopizzo: Changing the narrative of young refugees from the Kibera slums
Born in one of the largest slums of the world in Kibera, Nairobi, Henry Ohanga also known as “Octopizzo”, is set to change the narrative of residents of such areas. After completing his secondary school education, Octopizzo took computing courses, worked as an electrician and an actor, before diving into hip hop music and youth
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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 to his hometown Kibera, which
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Octopizzo’s Quest for Hip Hop Greatness
In the video for his 2016 track “Prezidential,” Kenyan hip hop artist Henry Ohanga—more commonly known in musical communities as Octopizzo—communicates his desire for artistic and cultural eminence. Rapping in Swahili, Ohanga skillfully blends themes of Kenyan culture with the broader world, showcasing his unique talents and aspirations. Intercut between scenes of Ohanga dancing through
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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