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Senegalese hip hop is a form of hip hop that originated in Senegal in the early 1980s. When hip hop first hit the scene in Africa, it went from merely being a fad, to a more social and political movement. Amongst the most influential leaders of this movement were artists from the country of Senegal. With the modernization of the country, and the rise in media, the youth of Senegal were able to embrace a new form of expression.
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Keyti is one of the first and most prominent hardcore hip hop artists in Senegal. With his group Rap’Adio, he offered a radical approach to Hip Hop Galsen violently recalling the initial purpose of hip hop as a means to denounce society’s flaws. Still radically critical, though less hardcore, Keyti now evolves in solo. He is part of the West African hip hop collective AURA and performs in its well-known musical comedy The Extraordinary Stories of Poto-Poto Children.
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Simon Bisbi Clan is one of the most visible hip hop artists on the contemporary scene of Hip Hop Galsen. After his beginnings in Dakar, Simon grows from his diverse experiences on other hip hop scenes abroad during five years before coming back to his hometown. Since his return, he has been intensively contributing to the development of the musical sector in Dakar with the creation of his LLC, 99 Records, a structure dedicated to the promotion of Senegalese urban music and centred on the label “Djolof 4 Life Entertainment”.
Following an historical process of appropriation of American popular music by Senegal, hip hop emerged in the Senegalese capital city in the early mid- 1980s. Although hip hop galsen is now famous for its diverse musical productions, the movement there spread out from its dancing appeal rather than from its musical one. Indeed, Senegalese hip hop artists initially participated in this movement as smurfer, breakdancer, B-boy in general performing during organised podiums. Schools, nightclubs and other temporary public stages thus played an essential role in amplifying this movement in Dakar. Besides, and in contrast to American hip hop, which grew from the youth in the inner city ghettos, hip hop in Dakar began among a somehow middle-class youth who was able to access and/or introduce in their home place new ideas and new cultural expressions coming from abroad. Indeed, hip hop became popular in the capital city through the intensive though informal circulation of VH7 cassettes and recorded videos, which were imported from USA or France by diaspora people.
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Shaun Evaristo is a Filipino-American professional dancer and choreographer and currently CEO of Movement Lifestyle, a management company for choreographers. Shaun has taught at dance institutions that are well known by other dancers; amongst those are the Urban Dance Camp in Germany, the Broadway Dance Center in Japan, and Beat Mix in Korea. He has performed for Omarion, High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens and Justin Bieber, and has choreographed several dance routines for J. Lewis, NLT, Travis Garland, Luhan (singer) and for Korean groups Big Bang, 2NE1, Se7en, BTS, and Henry's 1st single, "Trap".Jeon Jungkook also stated that he worked with lifestyle movement before debut.
Tabitha A. D'umo and Napoleon Buddy D'umo, known together as Nappytabs, are Emmy Award-winning married choreographers who are often credited with developing lyrical hip-hop. They are best known for their choreography on the television show So You Think You Can Dance and for being supervising choreographers and executive producers of America's Best Dance Crew. Since being with the former, their choreography has received both praise and criticism. They own Nappytabs urban dancewear and have been working in the dance industry since 1996.
Adesola Osakalumi is an American actor, choreographer, singer, and dancer whose talents have garnered him successes in film, television, and stage.
References
- ↑ Thiombane, Ibrahima (1 September 2006). "PBS Radikal : des talents pour les mêmes idéaux". au-senegal.com.(in French)
- ↑ "Qui est Didier Awadi et PBS-Radikal?". abidjan.net. 2005.(in French)
- ↑ "Baay Sooley". Seneclash. Retrieved 20 July 2010.[ permanent dead link ](in French)[ dead link ]
- ↑ Ndjim, Mohamed (15 March 2010). "Quatrième édition du Showcase Words and Pictures (Wapi) - We art the word". Walfadjri.(in French)