Ground-breaking film Democracy in Dakar bridges the gaps between hip hop activism, video journalism and documentary film.

Brooklyn, NY—On July 23, the 92YTribeca will host a sneak preview of the groundbreaking documentary Africa Underground: Democracy in Dakar, a film about the role of musical activism in the Senegalese political process. The documentary exposes audiences to a gritty, raw side of Senegalese music and politics, through youth hip hop culture.

Using hip hop music as the primary storytelling device, Democracy in Dakar chronicles the lived experience on the streets of Dakar before and after the controversial 2007 presidential elections. The film follows rappers, DJs, journalists, professors, and others, intimately capturing the fluidity and intensity of emotion surrounding the controversial election.

“We see hip hop as a means by which we can mobilize the fight for fair and free democracy,” says Baay Musa, one of the artists featured in the film. “Hip hop is a powerful non-violent weapon that can externalize what’s in the hearts of frustrated, disillusioned youth. Complacency often comes from ignorance, so we want to get our message out to as many people as possible.”

In the 2000 presidential elections, youth and hip hop profoundly contributed to the success of Abdoulaye Wade—a candidate who, at the time, “embodied change” from the long-standing Parti Socialiste du Sénégal, which had reigned since the country’s independence in 1960.

By 2007, the cost of living had increased exponentially and hundreds of thousands of young Senegalese men had died in attempts to migrate to Europe in the face of remarkable unemployment rates, the once hopeful population of Senegalese youth was again in search of change. It was during the winter of this year that filmmakers Ben Herson, Magee McIlvaine and Chris Moore packed a small set of equipment to film the weeks leading up to the election.

“I can’t think of another hip-hop film that approaches the convergence of hip-hop and politics in this way” said Magee Mcilvaine the films co-director. “By using hip-hop to tell the story of this election, we hoped to make African politics more relevant to a younger demographic who might not be interested in it otherwise.”

Originally shot as a seven-part documentary mini-series released over the Internet, Democracy in Dakar set out to raise awareness in the United States about the political situation in Senegal. The short films were unexpectedly viewed widely across Senegal and the African Diaspora as well.

“In Senegal, hip-hop is being used as a way to critique Senegalese and global systems of inequality and injustice, sometimes successfully and sometimes not,” explains Ben Herson, the film’s founder and co-producer. “The important thing is that people are trying and that’s what this film is about.”

As Senegalese leaders continue to disappoint their voters and as global injustice prevails, many journalists contemplate the increasing fragility of Senegal’s democracy.

“Senegal is one of the few African countries never to have a coup,” says Musa. “Sometimes it seems as though the media is just holding its breath until we do. They don’t understand that we are a peaceful people and we will continue to inspire hope, not violence, through hip hop.”

About Democracy in Dakar:

http://www.democracyindakar.com

About Nomadic Wax:
Nomadic Wax is a fair trade record label and a film, music and educational events production company specializing in socially conscious global urban music and media. Learn more about Nomadic Wax at www.nomadicwax.com

About Sol Productions:

Sol Productions is a non-profit film production company that works to educate American and global audiences on themes that may never reach them through traditional education, corporate media or Hollywood films. Sol Productions’ mission is to make a personal contribution to democracy and to inspire viewers to pursue their own questions.

Learn more about Sol Productions at www.sol-productions.org

By Daniel Flynn

DAKAR, Dec 13 (Reuters) – Senegal banned reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly from the West African country on Wednesday after he strongly criticised President Abdoulaye Wade at a concert in Dakar and called on him to "leave power".

Fakoly, one of Africa’s best-loved musicians and famed for his outspoken criticism of the continent’s corrupt leaders, added his voice to rights groups who have accused the octogenarian Wade of becoming increasingly authoritarian.

The president’s critics say Senegal’s once-bright democratic credentials have been tarnished by Wade’s political manoeuvres to position his son to succeed him, the detention without trial of critical journalists and the diminishing power of parliament.

"Mr president, if you love Senegal, leave power!" Fakoly said during the concert on Wednesday, to rapturous cheers and applause from hundreds of Senegalese, before launching into his anthem for corrupt politicians "Quitte le pouvoir" — "Leave Power".

Wade, a long-time opposition leader elected in 2000, easily won re-election in February but has since angered many ordinary Senegalese by focusing on preparations for an Islamic conference next year, while ignoring pressing social problems.

The worst riots in decades erupted in Dakar last month when Wade ordered the removal of thousands of street sellers from the downtown area to ease traffic congestion. He has sheltered his son Karim, who is managing the infrastructure projects for the Islamic conference, from testifying before parliament.

"If you don’t want your son to be questioned by parliamentarians, you should not have involved him in running the country," said Fakoly, a long-time campaigner for peace in his native Ivory Coast, dressed in a long white robe emblazoned with maps of Africa.

The government of the poor former French colony, which has in the past expelled senior diplomats for public criticism of its policy, responded swiftly.

"Following the discourteous statements by the artist Tiken Jah Fakoly regarding our government, the artist is declared persona non grata in Senegal," read an Interior Ministry ruling broadcast on state television.

Despite Senegal’s relatively small economy and population, Wade has tried to compete with South African President Thabo Mbeki for leadership on African issues.

Last month, Wade launched an impassioned defence of President Robert Mugabe during a trip to Harare aimed at defusing Western criticism of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe. (Editing by Alistair Thomson and Sami Aboudi)

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.  |

DAKAR (Reuters) – African reggae star Tiken Jah Fakoly, famed for his bitter criticism of the continent’s corrupt leaders, has turned his attention to Senegalese leader Abdoulaye Wade, calling on him bluntly to “leave power”.

Fakoly, one of Africa’s best-loved muscians and a campaigner for peace in his native Ivory Coast, added his voice to rights groups who have accused the octogenarian Wade of being increasingly authoritarian.

Political posturing aimed at positioning his son to succeed him, the detention without trial of critical journalists and the diminishing power of parliament have all tarnished Senegal’s once-bright democratic credentials, Wade’s critics say.

“Mr President, if you love Senegal, leave power!” Fakoly said during a concert in the capital Dakar late on Wednesday, to rapturous cheers and applause from hundreds of Senegalese, before singing his anthem for corrupt politicians “Quittes le pouvoir” — “Leave Power”.

Wade, a long-time opposition leader elected in 2000, easily won re-election in February but has since angered many ordinary Senegalese by focusing on preparations for an Islamic conference next year, while ignoring pressing social problems.

The worst riots in decades erupted in Dakar last month when Wade ordered the removal of thousands of street sellers from the downtown area to ease traffic congestion. He has sheltered his son Karim, who is managing the infrastructure projects for the Islamic conference, from testifying before parliament.

“If you don’t want your son to be questioned by parliamentarians, you should not have involved him in running the country,” said Fakoly, dressed in a long white robe emblazened with maps of Africa.

Despite Senegal’s relatively small economy and population, Wade has tried to compete with South African President Thabo Mbeki for leadership on African issues.

Last month Wade launched an impassioned defence of President Robert Mugabe during a trip to Harare aimed at defusing Western criticism of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

DAKAR, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade cut the number of ministers in his government by more than a quarter on Tuesday in a belt-tightening show of solidarity with citizens hit by rising fuel and food prices.

Wade reduced the number of cabinet posts to 28 from 38, with the ministers of livestock farming, public hygiene and competitiveness among the casualties. The savings would be put into a "national solidarity fund", officials said.

"The aim is to make the state live more modestly and make significant savings on the budget," presidential adviser Hassan Ba told Reuters.

Octogenarian Wade pledged a month ago to trim his cabinet and cut ministerial salaries in a bid to "lessen the suffering" of the country’s poor, who have seen the price of basic goods like rice and bread rise sharply in recent months.

Riots swept the normally tranquil capital Dakar two weeks ago, with stone-throwing protesters complaining about widespread unemployment and rising prices at a time when the government is building luxury hotels and four-lane highways.

The unrest, which locals said was among the worst in recent years, was triggered when police tried to evict street vendors — most of them young men with no other way of making a living — from the pot-holed city centre.

The former French colony was one of the first countries in Africa to espouse multi-party politics in the 1970s and has long been regarded as a haven of stability in turbulent West Africa.

But diplomats, economists and rights groups are growing concerned about the increasingly intolerant style of Wade’s administration and about the transparency of public spending.

BLOATED BUREAUCRACY

Wade’s critics said the austerity measures, which include using energy-saving lightbulbs and internet telephony to halve the estimated 14 billion CFA francs ($30 million) spent by civil servants on phone calls each year, did not go far enough.

"The number of ministers we have is still well above the number in developed countries which are much larger in size and a lot more important than Senegal," Habib Sy, director of Senegalese anti-graft group Aid Transparency, t

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.  | 

By Nick Tattersall

DAKAR, Nov 28 (Reuters) – Senegal’s carefully polished reputation as a bastion of democracy in turbulent West Africa is dimming as its octogenarian leader, Abdoulaye Wade, grows increasingly autocratic, rights groups say.

Political posturing aimed at positioning his son to succeed him, the detention without trial of critical journalists and the diminishing powers of parliament all betray Senegal’s faltering democratic credentials, Wade’s critics say.

They say his obsession with hosting an international Islamic conference next year — a two-day event for which luxury hotels and new highways are being built in Dakar — have pushed more pressing social and economic problems off the political agenda.

“The Republic’s agenda is dominated in the short term by the organisation of the Islamic Summit and in the medium term by political manoeuvring around President Wade’s succession,” said Alioune Tine, head of African human rights group RADDHO.

“The presidential role has become an arch-institution which is not just overbearing but enslaving and subjugating all the other institutions, reducing them to dwarf status,” he told a news conference in Dakar on Wednesday.

Wade’s son, Karim, is an influential presidential adviser and head of the government agency managing the infrastructure projects for the Islamic conference, a role which has seen him increasingly involved in public debate and raised questions about his own political ambitions.

“This skilfully maintained veil of mystery (around Karim) allows his accomplices and henchmen to sow in the public mind the idea that the son of the head of state could legitimately succeed his father,” Habib Sy, director of Senegalese anti-graft group Aid Transparency, wrote in a local newspaper this month.

Wade’s spokesman has publicly denied that Karim is the president’s anointed successor.

WEAKENING PARLIAMENT

Senegal’s reputation for political stability has long made it a favourite among western donors and investors. It was one of the first African countries to espouse multiparty politics in the 1970s and is the only West African country other than the Atlantic archipelago of Cape Verde never to have seen a coup.

But riots swept across the capital last week after police tried to evict thousands of street vendors. The protests were fuelled by wider discontent over Wade’s perceived failure to address high youth unemployment and rising food prices.

Diplomats and local civil society groups have voiced growing concern over the increasing power of the presidency.

Macky Sall, the country’s parliamentary speaker, was unceremoniously sacked by Wade as deputy leader of the ruling PDS party two weeks ago after summoning Karim to appear before a finance commission charged with overseeing public spending.

Some political commentators fear Sall may now also lose his position as head of the national assembly.

“If he is removed from parliament as he has been from the party, it will totally ruin what credibility remains for the national assembly,” Tine said.

The senate is an even weaker balance against the power of the executive. The PDS won 34 of 35 seats in an August poll boycotted by the opposition, while the remaining 65 senators are appointed directly by Wade.

Journalists who have criticised Wade have found themselves jailed, triggering criticism from the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).

“The government’s continued use of criminal defamation and insult laws to jail and prosecute journalists undermines Senegal’s democratic credentials,” it said this month after four journalists held for critical stories were provisionally freed. (Editing by Pascal Fletcher)

© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.

Democracy in Dakar, Episode 3: Election Day

Sunday, February 25, 2007 – Election Day in Senegal, West Africa. Episode 3 takes place on election day and follows the group Sen Kumpe as they head to the voting station in their neighborhood Medina in Dakar to vote.

The episode continues in the immediate aftermath of the election, as people are sensing that Abdoulaye Wade may have won a slim majority in the election and avoided a run-off election.

Sen Kumpa close this episode with their track "Niawal"

Also featured are interviews with Sen Kumpa, Serigne Ndiaye, Matador (Wa BMG 44), Waa Complex Culture, and Leopold Senghor; as well as performances by: Matador, Sen Kumpa, Baat Sen, Waa Complex Culture, and Leopold Senghor.

Democracy in Dakar, Episode 2
"Freedom of Speech"

In the second installment of this documentary series, several of the main candidates for President in Senegal are introduced against a backdrop of the campaigning on the street and the perspective of hip-hop crews from across Dakar.

The optimism that accompanies most elections is tempered with the reality of the emerging democracy in Senegal, including the suppression of criticism of the government, both through brute intimidation and more subtle means (bribery, lack of airplay, etc).

Episode 2 closes with the song "Yaa Tey" by Xuman, one of the most prominent political rappers from the group Pee Frois.

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