Article
Senegalese rap is not dead!
«Coup 2 Gueule », extrait de l’album « Nos Connes Doléances ». 2008.
Dakar, February 2011. In order to denounce a decade of ultra-liberal governing that is choking the population, a rap group, Keur Gui2 Kaolack, is launching the opposition movement against the most radical and publicized power of recent years, and is thus rekindling the activism written into the DNA of Senegalese rap.
Positive Black Soul
It’s hard to understand the hip-hop movement in Senegal without going back on the pioneer band, PBS: Positive Black Soul. The duo – Didier Awadi & Doug E. Tee – was formed at the end of the 80s, when young people were marginalized by strikes in higher education that paralyzed the system and resulted in the closing of many university departments and in the invalidation of exams. Victims of the State’s lack of involvement, idle and unemployed, young people from the middle class found in rap – that new musical trend imported directly from the U.S. – the means by which to express their rage and frustration.
In 1992, PBS emerged on the Senegalese scene and adopted a social stance founded on self-empowerment. In 1994, their song Boul Fale ("Don’t Worry" in Wolof), which went on to become a veritable anthem for the movement, was the first to express popular criticism against the government and sign Senegalese rap into its political destiny. The floodgates were open, soon thousands were claiming to be rappers and spokespeople for young people committed to the cause.
In March 2000, 300,000 young people registered as voters and claimed Change ("Sopi" in Wolof), bringing to power today’s President, Abdoulaye Wade.
Meanwhile, raphas freed itself from American rap by finding African roots in the tassou or the taxourane, ancestral forms of scansion, intellectual references with Pan-Africanism figures such as Cheick Anta Diop, Kwame Nkrumah, and spiritual masters such as Cheick Oumar Tall.
African undeground : Democracy in Dakar
Democracy in Dakar
In 2007, the Senegalese who had chosen to change the government in the hopes that it would change society were disappointed; the "Sopi" didn’t bring them anything, but new elections are on the way. As for rap, it earned its status of nobility and, as opposed to the American model that gave up social activism in favor of quick money, it assumes more than ever its role of political troublemaker.
Internet use has become widespread, changing distribution channels, modes of production and music networks. The fledgling team of Nomadic Wax – a production company based in Brooklyn that specializes in hip hop – whose approach makes use of both video journalism and activism, found in Senegal the way to promote the political ambitions of this culture. Ben Herson, who is very familiar with the issue for having delivered a thesis on Wolof at Columbia University, along with Magee Mclllvaine and Chris Moore, will spend a month in Dakar sharing the daily life of rap groups before, during and after the elections. They’re making a documentary that will first be distributed on the Internet in si episodes: African Underground: Democracy in Dakar.
What they went on to discover and to show very well, is that the position of the rappers has changed: those who had brought about the advent of Wade are now asking him to leave office and are entering the resistance. Very quickly, just like the journalists and intellectuals who have chosen to criticize the inertia of the leaders, they then faced a crackdown, discreet but effective: the threat of imprisonment or retribution on the family, attempted bribery or censorship of the media, which partially silenced them.
Wade's victory in the first round leaves a bitter taste and marks the beginning of a journey through the desert for Senegalese rap. The stars went on to seek international recognition, leaving the place to young people from the low income suburbs of Dakar, Pikine, Guediawaye, Rebeuss, or from completely distant cities like Kaolack.
Rifou/Street Life
Damned of the earth
As a matter of fact, it’s from this gateway city, located on the border with Gambia, crushed by the sun and transactions of all kinds, that came the rap movement revival. Here, the model is gangsta rap. It is the genre that best reflects the chaotic atmosphere and lawlessness of the city. Rapper Rifou, a rising star on the national stage, sings about the status of the wretched of the earth: us, we are outlaws.
But the real leaders are the duo made up by Kilifeu and Thiat, under the name Keur Gui2 Kaolack ("Keur Gui", home in Wolof). These supporters of the movement for decentralization / de-dakarisation are not newcomers. They’ve been on the scene since the late 90s, and even claim to be the only rap group to have done time in prison. They’ve kept their taste for struggle and political commitment. In 2008, they released the album "Nos Connes Doléances" (“Our Stupid Grievances”), whose title "Coup de gueule" ("Punch in the Face") marks the return of rap into the national political arena. (Note that the video was produced by the production company Gelongal, made up of two brothers and former rappers.)
Sit-in "Y'en a marre"
Dakar, february 2011 : enough is enough
Eleven years of governance by President Wade has devastated the country. The series of major works he launched makes the economic precariousness in which the majority of the population is stuck even more glaring, and the Senegalese are tired of living to the beat of power cuts. Keur Gui2 Kaolack is taking advantage of the gathering of the World Social Forum in Dakar to hold a press conference that has nothing to do with the presentation of their latest album: this is about the official launch of the citizen movement "Y’en a marre" ("Enough Is Enough"), which invites "fighters, street vendors, workers, students, journalists, teachers, rappers and artists to join the momentum of this protest and express their "being fed up" with living to the beat of power cuts". Their goal: to sign and lodge a million complaints against the government.On their Facebook page, Keur Gui announces the gist of the message: "The time has passed for moaning in your living room or futile complaining about power cuts. We reject the systematic rationing of electricity imposed on our homes. We're sick and tired of it: ENOUGH IS ENOUGH".
The movement denounces injustice, unemployment, corruption, but it mostly tries to involve citizens and especially young people. On March 19, 2011, the anniversary of the election, Y’en a marre invited young Dakar residents to a protest-performance on the public square Place de l’Obélisque in Dakar. The organizers spread the word: black T-shirts with "Y’EN A MARRE" in white letters distributed to the crowd, slogans with rap beats, using the language of the people and Wolof. A sign of globalization: the event was relayed by the diaspora in Paris and New York.
Didier Awadi-Samy Dorbez/ Dégage
WADEDEGAGE2012
People under 25 make up over 60% of the population and, one year before the elections, the voting-age young people are crystallizing the attention of the political parties. Voter registration is open until June 30. Time is running out. Since April 15, the group launched a national campaign, "Daas Fanaanal" (Protect Yourselves), to convince people to register to vote and to go collect their voting cards.To this end, Keur Gui intends to mobilize the hip-hop movement – rappers like Fou malade, Rifou, Eumzo Me Flower are already actively involved – but also the religious leaders who are true opinion leaders. The actions of the group are quickly becoming the target of the government, which has banned rallies and press conferences by its members. But Keur Gui is not afraid: they "travel with their death certificates"!
The Senegalese revolution is on the march, Facebook and Twitter pages targeting the elections are multiplying, citizen movements are gathering speed. Let us wager that this time, rap will be the victor. Because without a doubt, things are in safe hands.
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