B-Spirit Magazine
December 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment
MEET…
Ben Herson is founder of Nomadic Wax record label, curator of the African Underground series of African hip-hop records and director of the internationally acclaimed documentary Democracy in Dakar, with colleague Magee McIlvaine
How did you first come into contact with Senegalese music?I met a drummer from Senegal called Abdoulaye Sall when I was 15. I’d just begun studying drums and was interested in African percussion. In 1998, I took my first trip to Senegal with Abdoulaye and it was then my interest in African music really took off.On my last day there I visited Marché Sandaga [Dakar’s outdoor market] to buy some cassettes. I noticed some locally produced hip-hop albums, which I purchased. I was amazed by the fact that Senegal even had a local hip-hop scene and was really curious to learn more.What did you make of the music?Once Senegalese friends started translating the lyrics for me, I came to realise hip-hop music in Senegal was quite deep in its political, social and spiritual message. It was the message in the music that drove me to want to write about and eventually produce African hip-hop, in the hope that other people might be inspired by the message as I’d been.
What are the biggest differences between Senegalese and Western hip-hop?The most discernible differences are lyrical content and language. By and large, Senegalese don’t rhyme about material desires, sex or violence. Instead they use hip-hop as a tool for self-expression and a way to promote a political philosophy or social/spiritual message. In Senegal, there tends to be a consciousness in the lyrical content that I find lacking in a great deal of US rap music.In what ways do Senegalese musicians address political issues in their music and what impact do their lyrics have?Throughout Senegalese history, West Africa has been home to a class of musicians called gewels [also called griots or jalis, depending on the country]. They serve as oral historians, keeping the history of the country and its people alive through songs and stories.Hip-hop is a powerful alternative for young people who want to express themselves because it’s an imported style that isn’t tied to these traditions or familial lineage. Hip-hop in Senegal exists as a separate social space for young people to talk about issues that in the past may have been taboo to speak about, such as politics, corruption and so on.How did the Democracy in Dakar documentary and African Undergroundproject come together?The project began as an extension of my undergraduate thesis, which was about the role of hip-hop in Senegal and explored the various ways young people have used it as means for political/social transformation. I stayed in contact with many of the rappers I’d interviewed and one of them suggested I make a compilation of Senegalese hip-hop for the Western market. I went back to Dakar with little more than a laptop computer, hard-disk recorder and a few microphones to record what eventually became the first of a series of African hip-hop compilations calledAfrican Underground.The documentary series was a logical extension of these audio projects. The concept was to create a series of documentary shorts we could upload to the web through viral media sites, such as YouTube, MySpace and Current TV, and disseminate the film internationally as it was happening.With your immersion in Senegalese music, can you say who your favourite musicians are? Is there anyone you’d tout as a future international star?That’s a difficult question to answer. Each MC has their own strengths and everyone brings their own unique flavour and style to the genre. I’d say the MCs who stand the most chance of breaking into the international market are those who are able to stay true to themselves and find a way to communicate with an international audience in a way that transcends the language barrier.www.africanunderground.com
Washington Post
December 17, 2007 | Leave a Comment
