May 26/06
Beats, not the kora
Once and a while on Benn loxo I like to remind listeners that African music isn’t all about koras and djembes. There are lots of sounds coming out of the continent these days and not all of them are strictly related to “traditional” music, nor do they all sound like they should filed under “World” at your local Virgin megastore.
I’ve featured quite a bit of hip-hop from Senegal, South African and Nigeria over the past couple years. It’s been a while, so why not listen to some more. Today we’ll hear some contemporary hip-hop and drum’n'bass sounds from Tanzania.
I know that many of you already know the Xplastaz track, but I’ve never featured it on my site and it’s one of my favourite hip-hop tracks to come out of the continent. This song has particular resonance for me. When I first arrived in Paris a little over a year ago I went to this house party near Opera Garnier. A Benn loxo listener, Olivier, had invited me. I walked into what I thought would be a small gathering to find a multi-room dance party in a partially constructed building filled with a few hundred people all busting up the dancefloor to… Tanzanian hiphop? What a great way to start off a city.
The other two tracks are off Mapito, the Tanzanian Mix Tape Remix Project. This compilation really reflects for me how far East African hip-hop has come over the past few years. Both production and musical quality has really, really improved since the scene started opening up during the late 90s and early 2ks.
Both Xplastaz and Mapito are on the excellent African hip-hop label, Nomadic Wax. You’ve heard stuff here already off their release, African Underground Vol. 1: Hip-Hop Senegal. Much more info on African urban sounds at Africanhiphop.com.
X Plastaz - Msimu kwa msimu
Owen Saunders & Mike Freear feat LC, Bennamo, Yega & Mr. Soo - Self Destruct
Mr. Soap - Niwachache Tu (Timebomb Remix)
May 26th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
why can’t we have beats AND kora?
toumani diabate’s trying fusion, is his symmetric orchestra in barcelona a couple of weeks ago is anything to go by, but why not fuse with something a little more current (or futuristic)?
May 26th, 2006 at 3:25 pm
i suppose what i mean is synthesis, not fusion….
May 27th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
a lot of these guys (and gals) ARE making a “synthesis”. there are numerous examples across africa of people rapping over beats informed by local rhythms. tons of tracks that use samples of local instruments, intermingling hip-hop beats with traditional timbres and melodies. toumani’s new sound is amazing, but is something altogether distinct from a discussion of hip-hop, i think.
big ups to nomadic wax and africanhiphop.com for pushing the envelope further in terms of getting this music to the world.
May 28th, 2006 at 1:58 am
The X Plastaz are great. R.I.P Nelson.
That Self Destruct song is amazing.
May 30th, 2006 at 11:47 am
a sunday not at all at the pool in Kigali would lead one to agree…
not a kora in sight.
June 14th, 2006 at 9:54 am
al hadi bunu
June 18th, 2006 at 11:39 am
hi,
this is the most interesting african music blog i know. this very file is interesting, but african hip hop is not that new, however, the drum & bass seems to be a more recent development.
did you ever get to hear the ghanaian of hip life? this is a hybrid of hip hop and high life. who i like most is: v.i.p. (vision in progress) from a migrant community (or rather a ghetto), which is called nima located in accra. they are singing in twi, hausa, ga, french and english. great stuff!
regards,
wen
August 13th, 2006 at 3:08 pm
[...] Perhaps most importantly, he translated the Swahili lyrics of that amazing Xplastaz song, Msimu kwa msimu. Yeah, Olivier, that one; it will always remind me of one of the better house parties I’ve ever attended. [...]
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:11 am
[...] I was at a Sarah Harmer and Kelly Joe Phelps show last night. After the show we bumped into Ms. Harmer at the back of the club so I introduced myself and told her the story about how I spent many hours in a car with my Kenyan friend, Aki, listening to her album, I’m A Mountain, on repeat. It was the only disc we had with us at the start of the trip aside from a Kenyan hiphop mix featuring the Xplastaz. I’ll forever associate the tunes on that album with Aki rapping in Swahili, the German autobahn and large crowds of red-faced English and Dutch football fans. [...]