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>african rap
December 12, 2012 Video of the week: Lord Ekomy N'Dong Lord Ekomy Ndong with a gentle rocker called "Un soleil s'n va" (a sun departs), featuring his funky harp playing.
October
2 2008 Global Hip-Hip at CMJ This year’s CMJ INTERNATIONAL HIP-HOP THROW-DOWN will unite the talents of a creative and diverse group of lyricists and DJs from Africa, Korea, Canada, and Europe at club DROM, located at 85 Ave A in New York’s East Village on Thursday October 23rd 2008. The event will begin at 8 PM and will last until 3 AM and will feature live international hip-hop music and DJs spinning music. The show feature a handful of rising stars including Blitz the Ambassador (Ghana), Drunken Tiger (Korea), King Reign (Canada), Empire Isis (Canada), Chachi (Cape Verde) and Too Many Fish (France). DJs Boo and Soulscape from Korea will be on the turntables. V.J Kwon from Korea will set the tone and visuals for the night. There will also be an all French Hip Hop showcase at Hiro Ballroom on Friday, October 24th featuring La Caution, Mangu and Wax Tailor. December
30 2008 Didier Awadi protests EU-African accord Senegal's Didier
Awadi and Kirikou have taken a stand against the economic accord
between the EU and the ACP (Africa-Caribbean-Pacific) countries. Like
many observers, they feel it is too heavily biased in favour of the
developed EU rather than the developing economies. Their reply is
simple: "On ne signe pas" (We're not signing) in French, English and
Wolof - which I still think is one of the world's bet languages for
rapping. Check it out on the Sankara site. September
26 2007 Awadi announces concert dates next year I know it's a bit early, but Didier
Awadi has announced concert dates for the months of May/June 2008.
What I can't seem to find, however, are the dates of his current
appearances as I hear he is playing in Antwerp (Belgium) on September
28. He will also be appearing in the Bataclan in Paris
on October 14. More about Awadi June
22 2007 RIP: Mamadou Konte Although largely unknown to the
general audience, African rap has lost one of its most important
players. Mamadou Konte founded the Africa Fête festival in France in
the late seventies, later bringing it to the US and Canada. He also set
up a label in Senegal that was responsible for uncovering Positive
Black Soul and Pee Froiss, amongst others. One of his most important
contributions to music, however, was the continued development of a
music business in West Africa, where he ran numerous programmes for
training mangers and other professionals. He died in Dakar on June 21,
and is survived by two sons - and a whole generation of musicians and
music professionals. April
2 2007 Alkhasser/Bigg voted Best Artist in Morocco The infamous Moroccan rapper Alkhasser
(or Al Kaiser) was doubly recognised at the recent Maghrib Music Awards
when his album "Mgharba Tal-mout" was voted album of the year, and he
himself was hailed as the artist of the year. The show, hosted at the
Théâtre Mohammed V in Rabat, also gave awards to the Moroccan rappers
Muslim (Zanka Flow) and Hell L'Mkane. "Hip-Hop Revolution" charts some of
the performers in Uganda, including Hip-Hop Activists and Rah-P. Quote
of the day: "they don't want to listen to bling-bling". Check it out. Oct
29 K'Naan the future of Hip-Hop? Great to see another African rapper
getting some mainstream attention. In this article in the UK's
Guardian, Robin Denselow argues that Somalia's K'Naan could well be the
future of Hip-Hop after seeing him in concert at the Jazz Cafe in
London where his guest was US rapper M1. It's rather a grand claim, but
he makes the case well! Read
the review here. . Oct
23 Kwaito star Lebo Mathosa dies in car crash Lebo Mathosa, the flamboyant star of
South Africa's Kwaito style, died in a car crash near Johannesbourg on
October 22. Mathosa rose to fame in the group Boom Shaka, and had
considerable success as a solo artist with the album "Drama Queen". She
was nominated for a MOBO award earlier this year. Arguably Gabon's best hip-hop act Lord
Ekomy Ndong (one half of Movaiz Haleine) appeared in France recently,
playing at the Hip-Hop Atypique in Montreuil. The second release from
Movaiz Haleine "On detient la harpe sacréee Vol 1" was released in
September in GAbon. More news and links when they become available.
More about Lord Ekomy Ndong. Aug
22 2006 Kenya's Gidigidi Majimaji recognised at home Kenya's rap duo Gidigidi Majimaji have
returned home after a series of high-profile concerts in the US. The
Standard Online profiled them in a full-page article. The makers of
"Many Faces" are currently planning a new release. See The
Standard for the full article. We haven't had a chance to listen to
all the tracks, but Mali's Amkoullel has just released an album to the
net as MP3s. Amkoullel is known as one of the country's most commited
performers. He has been busy performing with the jazz group Cheik
Tidiane Seck. To find out more, see Bamanet. More Amkoullel information here. "Lagos Stori Plenti" is the first
internationally-distributed compialtion to feature music from Nigeria.
The reviews are glowing, with the UK's Daily Telegraph saying,
"Nigerian rap feels like a world in the making where everything is
literally up for grabs". Featured artists include Terry Tha Rapman, JJC, Weird MC and Bantu. Plenti
Stori on Amazon UK Dates confirmed so far: 29.04. D-Tübingen Radioshow mit DJ
Lamin March
8 K'Nann on tour in Europe Somalian rapper/spoken word artists is
currently touring Europe, with dates in France, Germany, Belgium and a
few in the UK through March and April. K'Nann is known as the Dusty
Foot Philosopher. His
website is quite cool, with lots of info about Somalia. For details,
see Dusty Foot
Philosopher. Or tune in on Feb
17 "Bunny" Banaissa video download I think this is cool. Moroccan-born
rapper Banaissa has put his video
of "Set Language" for sale. And for
the royal sum of €.25 (that's 25 eurocents!). Benaissa is currently
working on a new album in Germany. Check it out. Does this sound familiar or what? But
no, we're not talking about the bling scene in the US, these are
comments made about Ghana's once-exciting Hiplife scene, so well
defined by Reggie Rockstone. It's a comment that is being heard in many
countries from Jamaica to France. People complain about violent,
senseless lyrics but they continue to be played. The writer in this
case has a suggestion: censorship. Yikes! Read the full story on GhanaMusic.com. Jan
18 2006 "Mzansi" documentary to screen in Belgium + South African DJs Anyone in the north of Belgium and
south of Holland should check out this opportunity to catch "Mzensi", a
hard-hitting documentary from Bart Van Dijck about the subcultures in
South Africa. Screenings are in Turnhuot and Antwerp on January 27
& 28, followed by sets from South African DJs Cybot and Neon Demon.
For details (in Dutch), check Roetes.be. Jan 8
2006 New compilation features Wa BMG 44 We have been banging on about
Senegal's WA BMG 44 for some time, but it's been almost impossible get
some of their material. The good news is that they turn up on the
compilation "African Underground Vol 1". See WA BMG 44 for the link. Nov
30 Bataka Underground reunion album on the way Uganda's Bataka
Underground played an
important role in the local scene. They are now working on a reunion
album, which is almost finished.
Babaluku and Krazy Native aka Saba Saba have been doing a lot of
charity shows in
the slum areas of Uganda under the umbrella name Bavubuka Foundation
(“youth”). Krazy
Native unveiled his new single “Wansi Wagulu”, which was available on
www.indigenous.be (but now seems to be down). Krazy Native's album,
"Tujababya, The Hard Way",
is to
drop next year . Angolan heads should tick off the date
of December 2, when Positive Black Soul creator Didier Awadi will be appearing at the
National Cinema in Luanda. Awadi is one of the true pioneers of African
rap, and picked up the RFI World Music Award in 2003 and the best
African Artist at Mali's Tamani Awards last December. In addition
to having created Positive Black Soul, Awadi also runs a TV show in
Dakar. Nov
14 Cameroon to host new Hip-Hop fest in 2006 The Cameroon town of Kribi is
organsing a hip-hop festival early next year. Guests will include Didier Awadi, Faso Kombat & Smockey
and Zara Moussa. It will also host a workshop organised by Belgium's
tireless Fondation Jacques Gueux. For details, contact
oceanfestihiphop@yahoo.fr Nov 3
- Kenyan Hip-Hop film to be shown in new York "Hip-Hop Colony", the movie mentioned
below, will be showing i New York on November 9 at 2.30pm. at the
ImaginAsian Theater, 239 East 59th Street. It's worth catching if
you're int own. Nov 1
- JJC & 419 Squad at Overground, London Overground is a night dedicated to
showcasing exceptional underground artists in London. The audience
includes die-hard fasn, as well as journalists and music biz
people. The next show features Nigeria's JJC & 419 Squad as
well as JD, Funky DL and SLK. Address: Cargo, 83 Rivington St.,
Shoreditch, London EC2A. Doos open 7.30 pm. More
about JJC. Sept
15 - Int'l Songwriting Competition open to Rap/Hip-Hop entries One of the largest songwriting
competitions in the world, ISC offers entrants a chance to win over
$100,000 in cash and prizes, including an Overall Grand Prize package
of $10,000 (US) in cash and $20,000 in merchandise. ISC is open to both
amateur and professional Sept
5 - UPDATE Kenyan Hip-Hop celebrated in film "Hip-Hop Colony" is a new documentary
that traces the scene in the East African state of Kenya. People in the
Los Angeles area will have an opportunity to catch at a special showing
on August 6 at Art Share (801 E 4th Place). The film is now also getting a London
showing at ICA, The Mall on September 12 at 6.15pm. For more details,
check Hip-Hop
Colony. June
3O Daara J tour dates Senegal's mighty have been on tour in
Europe since March already. In July and August they will be continuing
their tour with major festivals, before leaving for North America. Find
the upcoming dates visit the Daara J
page. Fans of South Africa's Kallitz might
be interested in subscribing to their Yahoo group. The band has just
uploaded an unreleased track, "Stiek Nou Uit". To subscribe, click
here. For more about
Kallitz, click here. June
3 JJC and 419 Squad to play London's Rise festival JJC & 419 Squad have been
confirmed for the Rise Festival which will take place on Saturday, 16
July, at Burgess Park, London, SE5, from 12 noon to 8:30 pm. Formerly
known as the Respect festival, the Mayor of London’s huge FREE
anti-racism festival will also feature performances by Lemar, Mitchell
Brothers, Kano, Horace Andy, Eska and many more (including numerous
African acts to be announced, too). JJC & 419 Squad will be
performing with a live band on the main stage (1.25pm - 1.45pm). April
20 Mali K7 and Seydoni Mali close shop due to piracy Two of Mali's most important labels,
Mali K7 and Seydoni Mali have had to close due to the levels of piracy
in the country. Both labels have been fighting piracy for years. But
due to a lack of support from the authorities, notably the Malian
authors rights society BMDA, the pirates have been openly flooding the
market with bootlegged material. The artists and producers association
estimates that a stunning 9 out of 10 cassettes for sale are
bootlegged. A recent haul brought in 20,000 cassettes - a pittance
given that 10 million were sold last year. Mali is an extraordinarily
musical country, perhaps the real source of the blues. Artists include
Ali Farka Touré and Issa Bagayogo. Rap artists include Yéli Fuzzo and Fatokan. But without
a structure that enables a music industry to exist, things look very
bleak for the future. Keep up with the news on MaliMusic. April
15 Lord Ekomy Ndong in Aix/Marseilles One of our favourites, Lord Ekomy
Ndong will be appearing near Aix/Marseilles (France) on April 23 next.
Venue: Espace Culturel Georges Duby d'Aiguille, with a shuttle bus.
Apart from being a cool performer, this offers an opportunity to pick
up the CD "L'Afrikain". Details: 06 96 29 51 56. Read more about Lord Ekomy Ndong. April
13 Hip-Hop activities in Belgium Move quickly and you can catch the Urban Stories festival in
Brussels, Bruges and Ghent on April 15, 16 & 17. Amongst the
hip-hop films on show are "Ouaga Hip-Hop" presented by director Benny
Malapa, "Style Wars" and "Freestyle Art of Rhyme". Details: Urban Stories.
May 4-7, Lezart Urbaines are organising the 7th "Rencontre de danse et
culture urbaines". Details on Lezarts Urbaines. If you're in the UK, look out for an
interview of JJC & 419 Squad on OBE TV (Sky TV channel 223) on
Thursday March 10 at 6 pm. The crew will also be appearing with a live
band at the Queen Elizabeth Hall as part of the London African Music
festival on March 10 at 7.45 sharp. Guests include Kween, D'banj and
Danielle Senior. Jan
16 New biogs: Awadi and Shaka Babs We've just added two new biogs to
African Rap.com: Didier Awadi,
founding member of Positive Black Soul, and Shaka Babs, a former member of Pee
Froiss. Jan
10 Uganda's Rocky Giant releases debut album 19 year-old Rocky Giant's debut
release "Rafiki" is picking up good airplay in Uganda and Tanzania. The
album is named after his susccessful single of the same name. Rocky
Giant sings in Luganda and Swahili, and has worked with Hyper-Com's
Mark and True Vines' Geoffrey. Dec
17 - Maskiri banned in Zimbabwe? Controversial Zimbabwean rapper
Maskiri is back in the news - if not on the airwaves. He told a local
paper that some DJs had been told not to play tracks from his new
release "Blue Movie". Maskiri frequently angers people in Zimbabwe with
his lyrics. "I will not change my style in order to get airplay," he
said. "Otherwise we will all end up singing the mundane stuff you hear
on radio." Full story on AllAfrica.com Dec
15 2004 - WaBMG, Daara J and Nix pick up awards at Dakar fest Hardcore rappers WaBMG44 picked up the coveted Best
Cassette award at the recent Hip-Hop Awards in Dakar (see below). This
is seen as quite an achievement, as the group is recognised as one of
the most committed on the Dakar scene and had considerable difficulties
in finishing the album. Other winners at the event were Daara-J (Best Live performance),
Nix (best video clip), Ass Malick (best Solo Cassette), Carlou D (Best
Sales) and PBS Radikal (Revelation 2004). Dec 7
2004 - Hip Hop Awards in Dakar The 4th edition of the Hip-Hop Awards
is currently being held in Dakar, with the support of Optimiste
Produktions. The event will bring together international artists such
as
France's Antilop Sa, Ivory
Coast's Kajeem, Cameroon's Négrissim
and Benin's H2O Assouka alongside local heroes Daara-J and WaBMG44. A cassette is being
produced, with the
proceeds going to the fight against Aids. For more details, visit SeneHipHopAwards.
Drop back here for the award results. We had some server problems recently,
which meant African-rap was not available. As you can see, we're back!
We will be adding new biogs and news over the coming days. Thanks for
your patience! Nov 9
2004 - JJC & 419 Squad nominated for a Kora Nigerian hip-hop outfit JJC & 419
Squad are nominated for a Kora award. The annual African event will
take place in Jo'burg this December. JJC & 419 are in the "Best
Arfican Group" category. Nov 7
2004 - Late news from Amkoullel Mali's Amkoullel was interviewed
concerning his latest projects, piracy in Mali and a new mixtape on the
MaliK7
site a while back. Sorry about the late link. Oct
29 2004 WaBMG to headline at Belgian spoken word event Senegal's WaBMG are to headline at a
special "spoken word event" in Brussels on Nov. 6. They appear after a
series of local artists (including Pitcho), French and US performers. A
round table will be held in the afternoon, with a concert at the
Botanique in the evening. Full details on the Lezarts-Urbains website. August
17 2004 Daara J feature in Womad Singapore Great to see African rap getting
recognition in Asia too. Senegalese masters Daara J will be appearing
alongside Talvin Singh, Zap Mama and Natasha Atlas. Read the preview here. August
16 2004 JJC dates and compilation JJC have a number of UK dates lined
up, including Celebrity Overnight (Antonia Okonma's birthday bash) at
the Café Royal on Regent St., London on August 19 and the Fast Forward
festival Trafalgar Square at 3 pm on August 22. JJC also feature on the
new Afrobeat Sessions compilation on Union Square. August
1 2004 New biog: Black Noise They just finished touring Scandianvia
and are heading back to South Africa. Let's hear it for the pioneers Black Noise. March
18 04. The East Coast scene. Read
the article on Allafrica.com The debate about abusive lyrics is not limited to
the Western world and Jamaica. In Ghana, the International Federation
of Women's Lawyers is using the upcoming Ghana Music Awards as a
platform to challenge the increasing use of profanity and abusive
stereotypes against women in Ghanian lyrics. The Awards are expected to
be dominated by Hip-Life perfomers, playing a combination of Hi-Life
and Hip-Hop. Add
your condolences on the African Hip-Hop site. Check the African Rap archives
for older news. |
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