The term "wahuni" is a Tanzanian slang term meaning "hooligans." Wahuni refers specifically to youth of the hip-hop generation of the 1990s in Tanzania. The use of such a negative terminology indicates the cultural hostility toward hip-hop within the nation.
Tanzanian rapper Professor Jay recounts that "If you rapped during this time, you were immediately considered a hooligan. Even parents would not permit their children to rap, or even allow them to listen to someone else rap" [1] Tanzanian youth were commonly described with words such as "violent, hostile, and disruptive."
In order to combat the negative reputation in society, Tanzanian youth represented their image as creative and empowered artists. Lyrics often included critiques of social and political conditions. Early artists of this genre included Mr. II and Balozi Dola. They often employed Swahili language in order to indicate their political themes. [2] [3]
Turkish hip hop refers to hip hop music produced by members of the Turkish minority in Germany, and to a lesser degree by hip hop artists in Turkey. The Turkish minority, called the Turks, first drew inspiration from the discrimination and racism they received while living as migrant workers in Germany in the 1960s. Turkish hip hop uses Arabesk music, a folk style that finds its roots in Turkey during the 1960s, and is influenced by the hip hop music of America and Germany. Album artwork, lyrical content, and the Turkish language are used by hip hop artists to express their uniquely Turkish identity.
Japanese hip hop is said to have begun when Hiroshi Fujiwara returned to Japan and started playing hip hop records in the early 1980s. Japanese hip hop tends to be most directly influenced by old school hip hop, taking from the era's catchy beats, dance culture and overall fun and carefree nature and incorporating it into their music. As a result, hip hop stands as one of the most commercially viable mainstream music genres in Japan and the line between it and pop music is frequently blurred.
Hip hop music has been popular in Africa since the early 1980s due to widespread African American influence. In 1985 hip hop reached Senegal, a French-speaking country in West Africa. Some of the first Senegalese rappers were M.C. Lida, M.C. Solaar, and Positive Black Soul.
As in other countries, the musical production in Tanzania is constantly undergoing changes. Music listened to by Tanzanians today stretches from traditional African music or the string-based taarab to a distinctive hip hop known as bongo flava.
Joseph Mbilinyi, known for his stage names Mr. II, Sugu and 2-proud, is a Tanzanian politician, human rights activist and rapper. He was also elected to the Tanzanian Parliament in 2010 and then 2015 to 2020.
Bongo Flava is a nickname for Tanzanian music. The genre developed in the 1990s, mainly as a derivative of American hip hop and traditional Tanzanian styles such as taarab and dansi, with additional influences from reggae, R&B, and afrobeats, to form a unique style of music. Lyrics are usually in Swahili or English, although increasingly there has been limited use of words from Nigerian languages due to the influence of afrobeats.
Israeli hip hop refers to hip hop and rap music in Israel.
Tanzanian Hip-hop, which is sometimes called Bongo Flava by many outside of Tanzania's hip hop community, encompasses a large variety of different sounds, but it is particularly known for heavy synth riffs and an incorporation of Tanzanian pop. There is some debate over whether Bongo Flava, which has emerged as a defined pop movement, can really still be qualified under the overarching term "hip hop" and not a movement unto itself, when it is beginning to develop a distinctive sound that differs from hardcore rap or, for example, the Maasai Hip hop of X Plastaz, who use the tradition of the Maasai tribe as the focal point for their sound and style. Tanzanian hip hop influenced the sound of the Bongo Flava genre. While Tanzanian hip hop retains many of the elements found in hip hop globally in terms of sound and lyricism, Bongo flava, derived from the Swahili word "ubongo", incorporates hip hop, Indian filmi, taraab, muzik wa dansi, and dancehall beats. It all began in the 1980s when Tanzanian teenagers were really interested in the American hip hop scene. At first, they took American beats and rapped to them. As the youth rapped, the hip hop in Tanzania began to develop into a mix of traditional and localized hip hop scene. As a result, it began a wave of interest from other people in Eastern Africa.
X Plastaz is a Tanzanian hip hop musical group based in Arusha and founded in 1996. They are one of the most popular acts in the Tanzanian hip hop scene. Their style mixes elements from international hip hop and traditional Maasai music, represented by Maasai singer Merege. While Merege sings in maa, the other members of the group rap in swahili and haya. Merege is also well known to perform in traditional Maasai clothings.
Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. The origin of the name is often disputed. It is also argued as to whether hip hop started in the South or West Bronx. While the term hip hop is often used to refer exclusively to hip hop music, hip hop is characterized by four key elements: "rapping", a rhythmic vocal rhyming style (orality); DJing, which is the practice of making music with record players and DJ mixers ; b-boying/b-girling/breakdancing (movement/dance); and graffiti. Other elements are: hip hop culture and historical knowledge of the movement (intellectual/philosophical); beatboxing, a percussive vocal style; street entrepreneurship; hip hop language; and hip hop fashion and style, among others. The fifth element, although debated, is commonly considered either street knowledge, hip hop fashion, or beatboxing.
Kenyan hip hop is a genre of music, and a culture that covers various forms and sub genres of hip-hop and rap originating from Kenya. It is commonly a combination of Swahili and English as well as Sheng and a variety of tribal languages.
Kwanza Unit (KU) was an early Tanzanian hip hop group. Its name means "First Unit" and it was formed in 1993 by a merger of several groups and solo artists. They started rapping in English, but later used Swahili as well.
Togo has very diverse and rich traditions in music and dance, which is in part reflected by Togo's regional hip hop scene. Hip-hop togo is the style of Old school hip hop of America mixing with the traditional music of Togo.
Gangwe Mobb is a Tanzanian hip hop group. They come from Temeke neighborhood in Dar es Salaam. It has two members: Inspector Haroun and Luteni Kalama. The group was established in late 1990s soon after Kwanza Unit, Mr. II and other had popularized Swahili hip hop music in Tanzania. The name "Gangwe" is derived from a popular 1980s slang term meaning "hardcore". In context, gangwe refers to the grimy and ghetto hip hop mentality that comprise most of their songs.
Political hip hop is a subgenre of hip hop music that was developed in the 1980s as a way of turning hip hop into a call for political and/or social action and a form of social activism. Inspired by 1970s political preachers such as The Last Poets and musician Gil Scott-Heron, Public Enemy was the first predominately political hip-hop group. It has helped to create a new form of social expression for subordinate groups to speak about their exclusions, injustices and lack of power. Political hip-hop is the use of hip hop music to send political messages to inspire action or social change or to convince the listener of a particular worldview. There is no all-encompassing political hip-hop ideology; rather, there are multiple perspectives that range anywhere from anarchism to Marxism to the values of the Five Percent Nation.
Indonesian hip hop is hip hop music performed in Indonesia. Hip hop music began to be produced in Indonesia in the early 1990s, with the first Indonesia artist to release a full-length hip hop album being the emcee Iwa K, who has released five albums to date. Other Indonesian hip hop groups and solos include Boyz Got No Brain, Neo, Sweet Martabak, Jogja HipHop Foundation, Saykoji, ZeckoZICK, Zero Nine, Behind Da Board, Borneo Clan, Jie Rapp and Yacko. Many Indonesian hip hop groups rhyme in the Indonesian language, but there are also groups that rhyme in English. Variously, songs often combine formal Indonesian with street slang, youth code, regionally colored pronunciations, and even expressions from regional languages.
Dataz is a Tanzanian rapper. She was born in 1984 on the shores of Lake Nyasa in Mbamba Bay. Later she moved with her parents to Morogoro where she began her primary education. When Dataz was attending her secondary school, Ifunda, her talent for music became apparent.
Misogyny in rap music refers to lyrics, videos, or other aspects of rap music that support, glorify, justify, or normalize the objectification, exploitation, or victimization of women. Whereas, the definition of misogyny refers to the hatred or disdain of women. It is an ideology that reduces women to objects for men's ownership, use, or abuse. It diminishes women to expendable beings. It can range from innuendoes to stereotypical characterizations and defamations.
Yemeni hip hop is a Yemeni music style and cultural movement related to rap and hip hop culture. It has influences from American hip hop and also from traditional music from the region. It is usually considered to have emerged from mid-2000s and reached its consolidation by 2009 when the first public concert was held in the French Cultural Institute. Although it has a variety of themes, there was an intense production of political songs by the Yemeni Revolution.
Feminist activism in hip hop is a feminist movement based by hip hop artists. The activism movement involves doing work in graffiti, break dancing, and hip hop music. Hip hop has a history of being a genre that sexually objectifies and disrespects women ranging from the usage of video vixens to explicit rap lyrics. Within the subcultures of graffiti and breakdancing, sexism is more evident through the lack of representation of women participants. In a genre notorious for its sexualization of women, feminist groups and individual artists who identify as feminists have sought to change the perception and commodification of women in hip hop. This is also rooted in cultural implications of misogyny in rap music.