Hip Hop and Social Change in Africa: Ni Wakati
*The book has been adopted as a textbook in the courses “Applying Music, Art & Practice” in the Department of Music at the University of Virginia, “Global Hip Hop Cultures in the Department of History and International Relations” at Trinity College, and “HipHop, Youth Culture, and Politics in Senegal” in the Department of African Cultural Studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison
Hardcover published in 2014 | Paperback published in 2016
This book examines social change in Africa through the lens of hip hop music and culture. Artists engage their African communities in a variety of ways that confront established social structures, using coded language and symbols to inform, question, and challenge. Through lyrical expression, dance, and graffiti, hip hop is used to challenge social inequality and to push for social change. The study looks across Africa and explores how hip hop is being used in different places, spaces, and moments to foster change. In this edited work, authors from a wide range of fields, including history, sociology, African and African American studies, and political science explore the transformative impact that hip hop has had on African youth, who have in turn emerged to push for social change on the continent. The powerful moment in which those that want change decide to consciously and collectively take a stand is rooted in an awareness that has much to do with time. Therefore, the book centers on African hip hop around the context of “it’s time” for change, Ni Wakati.
The book featured contributions from several disciplines, including history, political science, education and English. Several African hip hop artists also contributed short essays to the project.
Introduction to Hip Hop and Social Change in Africa
I: ”Social Ills”: Coming from Behind the Microphone to Effect Reform in Africa
1 Hip Hop Halisi: Continuities of Heroism on the African Political Landscape by Caroline Mose
2 Building Our Nation: Sénégalese Hip Hop Artists as Agents of Social and Political Change by Sheba Lo
3 Speaking Truth to Power: Hip Hop and the African Awakening by Amentahru Wahlrab 4 Malian Hip Hop: Social Engagement through Music by Amkoullel L’enfant Peulh
II: ”The Dusty Philosopher”: Hip Hop Voices on Social Change in Africa
5 How Hip Hop Impacts Social Change in Africa by Malle Marxist
6 Redefining the Struggle: Remembering the Mau Mau through Hip Hop Music by Mich Nyawalo
7 Hip Hop, Youth Activism, and the Dilemma of Colored Identity in South Africa by Shaheen Ariefdien and Rico Chapman
8 Beyond “Y’en A Marre”: Pikine’s Hip Hop Youth Say “Enough is Enough” and Pave the Way for Continous Social Change by Asligul Berktay
9 Gender Representations among Tanzanian Female Emcees by Msia Kibona Clark
10 Hip Hop and Social Change in Uganda by Slim MC
III: ”Adjuma”: Hip Hop’s Transformation of the Urban Space in Africa
11 Tanzanian MCs vs. Social Discourse by Mejah Mbuya
12 From the Great Island to the African Continent Through the Western World: Itineraries of a “Return to the Origins” Through Hip Hop Music in Madagascar (2000–2011) by Klara Boyer-Rossol
13 The Musicscapes of a Country in Transition: Cultural Identity, Youth Agency, the Emergent Hip Hop Culture, and the Quest for Socio-Political Change in Sierra Leone by John Idriss Lahai
14 Hip Hop and Sheng in Nairobi: Creating Identity Markers and Expressing a Lifestyle by Katharina Greven
Msia Kibona Clark, PhD 