African Rap
Perhaps
the greatest craze in African music yet, the advent of African rap has
encompassed the whole of the continent, with performers popping up in every
country and in every tongue. Taking note of the wave is this Rough Guide
compilation that takes a stab at covering the bulk of the major regions and
performers, though the full spectrum is far out of the reach of a single disc.
The rap of Africa is in many ways far more lyrically driven than beat-driven,
as opposed to the heavy regard of the all-powerful beat in American hip-hop.
The lyrics are generally based in social commentary as is the majority of
African music, refreshingly different from the bulk of American rap’s
posturing. What one might note here most surprisingly though is the amazing
homogeneity of the rappers themselves. Each one has his own style to some
degree, but there’s an overall degree of fluid slickness and cool, relaxed
delivery, reminiscent of the French rap scene (MC Solaar in fact was originally
based in Africa). What changes notably from track to track however is the
backdrop and the language in question. The various artists continually make use
of both traditional instruments, local musical flavors, and native tongues to
assert their originality, and more importantly their origins. The album opens
with a Tony Allen collaboration with London rapper Ty, then moves into the
pinnacle of current South African rap with the somewhat harder Prophets of da
City. The omnipresent Manu Dibango displays his ability to turn a trick with a
rapper in “Senga Abele” with some surprising fluidity, and the godfathers of
African rap, Positive Black Soul, show off the natural tongue-twisting ability
of the Wolof language. Tanzanians X Plastaz interestingly make use of influence
from the Maasai tribe, a surprisingly functional mix of the contemporary and
the extremely traditional. Reggie Rockstone from Ghana doubles up the previous
influences as he uses some funky Afro-beat loops à la Fela over which he
raps in Twi in a bouncing style reminiscent of some early-’90s American (and
British) acts like Das EFX. Mabulu uses the marrabenta guitar style as a
backdrop and Angolan Das Primeiro mixes in aspects of other Portuguese colonies
with samba and morna finding their way into his stylings. Representing the
Dakar scene (the ultimate hotbed of the style) is Pee Froiss. South Africans
Trybe mix some five or six languages with a sultry drum loop and early Tanzanian
act the Hard Blasters present the ultimate reworking of the Fu-Schnickens
sound. After a quick stop in Congo-Kinshasa, the album finishes up with the
Malian trio Tata Pound, whose machine gun-delivery is something worth hearing
regardless of language. African rap is a pan-continental craze right now, but
it’s quickly splintering into separate styles and forms. This compilation does
an admirable job of collecting the various threads and showing both their
diversity and their similarity.
Tracklist:
01. Unsung Heroes & Ty feat.
Breis – Right Here In Front of you (Nigeria)
02. Prophets Of Da City – Township Dwella (South Africa)
03. Manu Dibango feat. MC Mell’O’ – Senga Abele (Cameroon)
04. Positive Black Soul – Boul Fale (Remix) (Senegal)
05. X Plastaz – Msimu Kwa Msimu (Tanzania)
06. Reggie Rockstone – Eye Mo de Anaa (Ghana)
07. Mabulu – Karimbo (Mozambique)
08. Kalamashaka – Ni Wakati (Kenya)
09. Das Primeiro feat. Dhamn ‘A’ Rush – Liberdade (Angola)
10. Pee Froiss – Djalgaty (Senegal)
11. Trybe – Madau (South Africa)
12. Hard Blasters – Blast Nuff (Tanzania)
13. K-Melia – Na N’ko (Congo)
14. Tata Pound – Badala (Mali)
02. Prophets Of Da City – Township Dwella (South Africa)
03. Manu Dibango feat. MC Mell’O’ – Senga Abele (Cameroon)
04. Positive Black Soul – Boul Fale (Remix) (Senegal)
05. X Plastaz – Msimu Kwa Msimu (Tanzania)
06. Reggie Rockstone – Eye Mo de Anaa (Ghana)
07. Mabulu – Karimbo (Mozambique)
08. Kalamashaka – Ni Wakati (Kenya)
09. Das Primeiro feat. Dhamn ‘A’ Rush – Liberdade (Angola)
10. Pee Froiss – Djalgaty (Senegal)
11. Trybe – Madau (South Africa)
12. Hard Blasters – Blast Nuff (Tanzania)
13. K-Melia – Na N’ko (Congo)
14. Tata Pound – Badala (Mali)