Tag: Student Projects
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Nyota Parker: transcending Nonconformity
Released in March 2020, Transcend is Nyota Parker’s new single battling conformity in South African society. 20-year-old South African hip hop artist, Nyota Parker frequently promotes nonconformity in her music. Transcend is no exception. Given Parker’s young age, the artist is passionate about creating her own trajectory and inspiring her audience to do the same.
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Nyota Parker: Redefining “Up and Coming”
Nyota Parker is a 20-year-old hip hop rapper, singer, composer and artist transcend-ing the South African hip hop scene. Parker’s upbringing in Dublin and Capetown and unique Colognese and Irish heritage is evident in her incorporation of jazz, trap, and soul influences into her individualized hip hop style. Parker frequently references her blend of jazz
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Mixtape Project: South African Female MCs Addressing Gender Based Issues and Empowering Women.
Female MCs in Africa have long faced barriers in trying to enter a male-dominated industry that doesn’t take them seriously or believe that can create a lasting impact. As female artists are now on the rise more than ever, they are using their craft to shed light on social and cultural issues faced by women
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French Montana: Be Proud of Your Roots
In 2018, Moroccan-American rapper French Montana released his video for the song FAMOUS where he showcases his African heritage by displaying the beauty of Morocco. Montana, whose birth name is Karim Kharbouch, was born in Morocco but had moved to New York City when he was thirteen. Although he’s become a prominent and well-accomplished artist
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Ulimi: A weapon for social change in Kenya.
This song Ulimi, by Flamez and Sue timon is a song that I perceive to be a song that advocates for social change in Kenya. It is by a rapper called Flamez featuring a female MC, Sue Timon. Their hope for this song was not to incite any violent feelings, especially since the country has
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The face of Kenya’s Hip Hop Scene: Khaligraph Jones
Khaligraph Jones a.k.a Papa Jones born Brian Robert Ouka is an influential Kenyan Rapper who came to the scene when he was 19 years old, during ‘The 2009 Channel ‘O’ MC Africa Challenge’. Tracing his roots from Kayole, Nairobi, this artist had humble beginnings and has used that to shape his music and sound which
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UGQueen
Afro-fusion is the wave of the future because today’s music isn’t sticking to defined labels. One person who exemplifies such a concept is artist Sarah Tshila whose unique sound can be described as a blend of hip-hop, jazz, traditional African music and spoken word poetry. Her style is reminiscent of her inspiration, Lauryn Hill,
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Who is DJ Big Dris?
The world is finally taking notice of Idris Elba’s passion for music. As a man of many talents, many have recognized him as an actor, producer and director. His other long-time interests in DJing and rapping are finally getting recognition even though he has been consistent since he was just a boy. Idrissa Akuna Elba was born in London to a Sierra Leonean father and a Ghanaian mother. His father taught him how to speak Krio growing up. In his teenage years, a 14-year-old Elba began helping his uncle with a wedding DJ business. This start soon transformed into him starting his own DJ company. At this time, Elba would perform as DJ Big Driis in nightclubs. He was also known as Big Driis the Londoner. Elba has one album, four EPs and one mixtape. His features on Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’ “Dance Off” and the remix of Wiley, Stefflon Don & Sean Paul’s “Boasty” have both charted within the top 20 on the charts, with the later having over 30 million views on YouTube.
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A Love/Hate Relationship with Hip-Hop
Fact: Hip-Hop, as a genre, is the embodiment of black machismo. Since its rise to popularity, mainstream rappers have spewed misogyny. Lately, it’s been difficult for me to tune out a lot of the sexist rhetoric of the majority of rappers I come across. I have also noticed that, as hip hop has spread in