Tag: Swahili
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Highlighting Tanzania’s female lyricist
Though there isn’t much on the internet to go off of for Chemical Flo, a.k.a. Claudia Lubao, her energy and spirit come through very clearly in her work. Today I’m going to look at Chemical Flo’s song Mary Mary. First, Chemical Flo’s mix of Swahili and English is much more subtle and quick than other
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Hip Hop African Podcast Episode 58: The Tanzanian and Diaspora Artists Behind The Lounge Tanzania Mixtape
The Lounge Tanzania Mixtape Volume 1 is a project that brings together Tanzanian and Diaspora singers, rappers, and poets. The project features artists that are internationally known, as well as artists just starting their careers. In this conversation with seven of the artists, we talk about the evolution of the project and how the project reflects hip hop and popular culture in Tanzania. We also discussed the message the project sends to the music industry in Tanzania, which has tended to only promote one style of music. We talked about the collaboration between English and Swahili performing artists, the lack of East Africa representation in recent projects like Black Panther and the Lion King, and how this project shows East Africa’s engagement in Pan African projects as well. The seven artists interviewed in this episode are Mike Tareto/IG: @miketareto Joe Legendary/IG: @joelegendary Shamsa/IG: @vikombeviwilivyakahawa Fete Jen/IG: fete_jen Ronny aka Ty Charls/IG: @ronnycharlz Mex Cortez/IG: mex.tz FG Tony/IG: @fg__tony The episode begins with “Tougher” by Lo SayAloha Ski and Mex Cortez and “Wale Wale” by Zenji Boy. The episode ends with “No Time For Trash” by Mex Cortez. The video version of this episode can be found on our YouTube Channel The mixtape can currently be streamed on the following platform: https://soundcloud.com/fete-jen/sets/the-lounge-mixtape-vol-1 The artists on the project are Mex Cortez Frankie Maston Joe Legendary Chi Lufu Mike Tareto V.I.C. Zamdazitta Lo SayAloha Ski Zenji Boy Sima FG_Tony Ty Charlz Mteganda H Shamsa
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Celebrating Tanzania’s new Generation of Sound: The Lounge Tanzania releases its first mixtape
Celebrating Tanzania’s New Generation of Sound, The Lounge Tanzania Releases Its First Mixtape and It’s a Must Listen The Lounge Tanzania Mixtape Vol. 1: The Modern Voice of Bongo in 17 Tracks “The Lounge Tanzania Mixtape is an amazing body of work. The level of talent and skills displayed on the Mixtape has surpassed most
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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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La Fete- Falz
Folarin Falana, better known by his stage name Falz, is a Nigerian hip hop artist, songwriter and actor. He is well-known by his collaborated acts with the Nigerian star, Yemi Alade. The video above is Falz’s song entitled “La fete”. In this song, he incorporates different languages including: Yoruba, French, Swahili, and the Nigerian dialect “Pidgin
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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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HHAP Episode 32: Wakazi Bringing Bilingual & Bicultural Elements to Tanzanian Hip-Hop Culture
Wakazi is a bilingual Tanzanian hip hop artist. He grew up in Dar es Salaam, but spent several years in the United States, where he was active in the Chicago hip hop scene. Like many MCs who spend several years abroad, when he returned to Tanzania he had to prove himself on the local scene. He was able to craft his brand, largely by harnessing the power of social media. In this interview, Wakazi talks about his experiences in Chicago, with the local hip hop scene and how his experiences there have impacted his career. He discusses his return to Tanzania, the reception he faced on his return, and how has managed to build his career. Wakazi, who is fluent in English and Swahili, also talks about multilingualism, and the use of other Tanzanian languages in hip hop. Wakazi also reflects on some of the struggles within the hip hop community, some of which he feels is largely due to a lack of mentorship by the first generation of Tanzanian hip hop artists. He also discusses perceptions & understandings of African American culture in Tanzania. Wakazi’s music can be purchased on iTunes at https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/wakazi/928220403 Nomadic Wax Super MC: https://nomadicwax.bandcamp.com/track/super-mc-v2 Wakazi is online at Twitter @Wakazi: https://twitter.com/Wakazi Facebook @wakazimusic: https://www.facebook.com/wakazimusic/ Instagram @wakazimusic: https://www.instagram.com/wakazimusic/ Youtube @wakazimusic: https://www.youtube.com/user/WakaziMusic
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HHAP Episode 30: Hip Hop Producer Duke on Boombap & Hip Hop Production in Tanzania
This is an interview with Tanzanian hip hop producer Duke, founder of M Lab records, Tamaduni Muzik, and the Hip Hop Kilinge (cypher). The interview is mostly in SWAHILI, but we switch back & forth a lot. The Hip Hop African podcast celebrates the various elements of hip hop, but this is our first interview with a hip hop producer. Duke talks about how he became involved in hip hop in Tanzania, his involvement with the founding of Tamaduni Muzik and the Hip Hop Kilinge (cyphers) they used to host. These cyphers used to bring hundreds of youth from around Dar es Salaam to listen to the DJs, hear MC rhyme, participate in cyphers, buy hip hop fashion made by local artists. Duke also talks about issue of copyright and the art of sampling and the role of the producer in hip hop. We also discuss sounds, the role of the boom bap sound, as well as chopping up other sounds to create a unique sound that represents Tanzanian hip hop. He also talks about the top five artists outside of Tanzania that he would love to work with, as well the directions he sees hip hop in Tanzania going today. Haya ni mahojiano na Duke, prodyuza wa muziki wa hip hop Tanzania, mwanzilishi wa M Lab Records, Tamaduni Muzik, na Hip Hop Kilinge (cypher). Mahojiano yako zaidi katika SWAHILI, lakini tumechanganya na English kidogo. The Hip Hop African Podast inawakilisha nguzo mbalimbali za hip hop, lakini haya ni mahojiano yetu ya kwanza na prodyuza wa hip hop. Duke anazungumzia jinsi alivyohusika katika hip hop nchini Tanzania, kushiriki kwake na kuanzishwa kwa Tamaduni Muzik na Hip Hop Kilinge. Kwenye Kilinge, vijana vyengi kutoka Dar es Salaam walikuja kusikiliza muziki uliochezwa na DJs, kusikia sauti ya MC, kushiriki katika cyphers, kununua bidhaa za mitindo ya hip hop. Duke pia anazungumzia suala la hakimiliki na sanaa ya sampling na jukumu la prodyuza katika hip hop. Tulizungumzia pia sauti ya boom bap, na pia kuchop sauti nyingine ili kutengeneza sauti ya kipekee ambayo inawakilisha hip hop ya Tanzania. Pia anazungumzia kuhusu MCs watano wa nje ya Tanzania ambao angependa kufanya kazi nao. Pia tulizungumzia muelekeo wa Hiphop ya Tanzania katika nyakati hizi.
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Stella Mwangi’s Koolio
Today I picked Kenyan-Norweigan rapper Stella Mwangi because I thought she ties in all of the themes we talked about in class very well. Additionally, I believe that her use of language in her song Koolio is interesting and bridges two different cultures together.