Nomadic Wax is a fair-trade international record label, as well as a film, music, and educational events production company, specializing in hip hop and underground music from around the globe.
In the summer of 1999, Nomadic Wax founder Ben Herson stumbled upon a thriving hip hop scene in Senegal, West Africa. Enthralled by the politically and socially conscious lyrics of the emcees he encountered, Herson researched and wrote his award-winning undergraduate dissertation Fat Beats, Dope Rhymes, and Thug Lives: Hip Hop, Youth and Politics in Senegal. In 2001, Herson returned to Senegal with collaborator Dan Cantor of Notable Productions. The two set up shop in a spare room in a Dakar community center to record African Underground Vol. 1, a compilation featuring fourteen of Dakar’s illest emcees.
Since 2001, Nomadic Wax has grown into an internationally recognized brand in global urban music and media, working with hundreds of pioneering artists worldwide. Focusing on Africa and the African diaspora, Nomadic Wax has expanded its projects into the Middle East, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean.
Film and Television
Nomadic Wax’s award-winning film African Underground: Democracy in Dakar, a world-traveled feature-length documentary, has been screened at dozens of film festivals and universities internationally. Democracy in Dakar explores the role of youth hip hop activism in the 2007 Senegalese elections. Film work currently in production includes African Underground: Democracy in Paris, covering African and Arab immigrant youth in France through the controversial 2007 election, as well as African Underground: Bronx to Bamako, set to chronicle the journey of two African-American emcees traveling to Africa for the first time and two African emcees traveling to America.
Music and Events
Nomadic Wax works with partner company Notable Productions to produce audio in its state-of-the-art production facility. The Nomadic Wax music catalog has become the go-to brand for global urban sounds, and is sought after for its hip, new styles from around the world. Nomadic Wax’s exclusive collection has been played on TV, film and new media internationally, and has supplied music and media to Nike, Starbucks, Universal, and more. Twice monthly, Nomadic Wax curates the radio show Mo’ Glo for KEXP (Seattle) and WNYE (New York City), featuring the latest in global underground sounds.
Nomadic Wax produces events at clubs, colleges, film festivals and museums around the world. Educational events bring emcees and educators alike to work with students, providing workshops focusing on a range of topics including DJ and freestyle techniques, francophone language and culture, and guerilla filmmaking.
MUSIC
Ben Herson has produced, recorded or played drums on recording and liver performances for:
African Underground: Hip-Hop Senegal | African Underground Depths of Dakar | Matissyahu | Eli Efi (Brazil) | Dry Yai (Sierra Leone) | Chosan (Sierra Leone) | Subatomic Sound | Escort | DJ Rekha | Zimbabwe Legit (recorded) | King Django - Roots and Culture n Roots Tonic | Version City Rockers Darker Roots | Johnny Osbourne | Pampidoo | Dr Ring Ding | Dave Hillyard and the Rocksteady 7 | Dub is a Weapon | Ranking Joe | Jammyland Allstars | Glen Adams (Upsetters) |
FILM
African Underground: Democracy in Dakar | African Underground: Democracy in Paris
EVENTS
Celebrate Brooklyn | Harvard University | WOMEX | George Washington University | United Nations Week | Black Soil Film Festival - Netherlands | Vibe Magazine Urban World Film Festival |St Johns University | CMJ 07 | Echo Park Film Center | Trinity College| Sarah Lawrence University | La Paloma | Busboys and Poets, Wash. DC | Wilson Center for Scholars | Africa Fete 2007 | DC Shorts Film Festival | Harborfront Center - Toronto | Queens Museum, NYC | Columbia University | Transafrica Forum | Lincoln Center | SOBS | Rose Live Music | Nublu | Middle East Club | Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival
