Washington Post
December 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment
VOA
December 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment
‘
Democracy in Dakar’ Film Shows Power of Hip-Hop Among Senegalese Youth
By Jackson Muneza Mvunganyi
Washington
15 August 2007
Interview with Ben Herson and Mcgee Mcilvan
Listen to Interview with Ben Herson and Mcgee Mcilvan
A film on the role of hip-hop in shaping the political discourse in Senegal is getting rave reviews. The documentary Democracy in Dakar is the brainchild of filmmaker and producer Ben Herson, who visited Senegal’s capital, Dakar, in 2003.
Herson first got interested in Senegalese music a couple of years ago, when he was working on his university thesis about Senegalese music. He was amazed at the vibrant music scene in Dakar, given the small resources and financial rewards available to young musicians there. He says he was intrigued by their passion and devotion to music and decided to expand his project into a full-length movie. Herson’s next visit came during Senegal’s presidential election campaign held earlier this year. He witnessed the power of young, politically conscious rappers – and the enthusiasm of their fans.
Democracy in Dakar shows the influence that hip-hop music has among young Senegalese. Herson says it’s a tool that has been used by the youth to voice their frustration with the political establishment. The documentary features rising stars in the Senegalese entertainment industry and plenty of unknown MCs, whose storytelling abilities are much like those of the traditional Senegalese griots.
“The young rappers perform traditional Senegalese rap songs “that tell stories about society, much like ancient griots narrated the lives of ancient societies,” he said.
Young Senegalese musicians, like those in other parts of Africa, have fused traditional music and messages with western styles popular among their fans. Young film director McGee Mcilvan says he saw more than a than a dozen Senegalese rap groups in Dakar which have created unique and distinct sounds.
Many tracks on the video feature what the Senegalese call "ego tripping," a mode of hip-hop that includes bragging. The movie also sheds light on the personalities of the rappers and their inspirations.
Mshale
December 9, 2007 | Leave a Comment
Hip-Hop: The Catalyst of Change in African Politics
Samuel Imende
Africans must pick and choose what aspects of the hip-hop culture to embrace.
The late Ahmed Sékou Touré, the founding president of Guinea, once said, “To take part in the African revolution, it is not enough to write a revolutionary song; you must fashion the revolution with the people. And if you fashion it with the people, the songs will come by themselves and of themselves.”
His message seems to have resonated across Africa into the minds of African hip-hop artists. In the documentary, “African Underground: Democracy in Dakar,” featured in a forum at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, last month, Senegalese rappers seem to have led a hip-hop revolution in 2000 to oust Abdou Diouf. Diouf had been in power since1981.
With the country dissatisfied by President Abdoulaye Wade, Diouf’s successor who many feel has failed to bring about the changes he promised, Senegalese hip-hop artists find themselves once again at the crossroads of politics
The forum at the Wilson Center, moderated by the Africa Program Director Howard Wolpe, touched on the environment in which hip-hop is thriving in Africa. In comparison with other regions of the world, Africa has the highest percentage of youth and the fastest rate of urbanization. With the growing influence of Western culture on African youth, and a vast access to music via the Internet, hip-hop will continue to empower African rappers as instruments of change. There are claims that hip-hop has already become the contemporary manifestation of African culture.
The reality is that hip-hop also brings to Africa the bad and the ugly. American hip-hop artist Tupac, the rapper said to have influenced African artist the most, left a legacy riddled with not only hope, but also with pain from the ghetto. His lyrics and eventual violent death exposed the dangers of hip-hop’s digression to gangster rap, which is notorious for violence, use of profanity and the degradation of women. African social critics have begun putting pressure on rappers, urging them to realize their influence on socio-political culture. The critics encourage artists to express the more positive elements of hip-hop.
In April, while observing the recent elections in Nigeria, I kept hearing Nigerian artist, 2Face Idibaba’s song “E be like say” on the radio, which condemns “shady politicians” for constantly deceiving the electorate for the sake of power. I realized this was a powerful tool of voter education to millions of Nigerians who are neglected by politicians, especially in rural areas. If African rappers continue to educate and give a voice to the scores of youth, who are the primary victims of poor governance and rampant corruption, hip-hop may become a political force to reckon with.
