Rap City: Sweat, Hope & Hip-Hop In Dakar

Enlarge this imageFans wait for Senegal’s biggest stars to perform at a free hip-hop festival, held in the capital metropolis of Dakar.Ryan Kellman for NPRhide captiontoggle captionRyan Kellman for NPRFans wait for Senegal’s biggest stars to perform at a free hip-hop festival, held in the capital town of Dakar.Ryan Kellman for NPRAn orange streetlight glows over the sandy street corner. The surrounding alleys and cement buildings disappear into darkne s at the edge of the light. It is 11 p.m. on this July night, temperatures are still in the high 80s and a cool breeze is nowhere to be found. Young men hustle to arrange hulking, rusted speakers on either side of a small wooden platform. Others hover by the streetlight. They wear crisp T-shirts with bold lettering and splashes of color. A loud beat blasts from the stacks of speakers, drawing dozens of people out into the center of the street. They look up as the announcer steps to the front of the stage and begins a droning chant: “RaaaaWuuuuuuu.” Then the duo Rawu Street launches into songs about being raised in the slums. Heads begin to nod, fists pump in the air and the show gets going. This is the hip-hop scene on the outskirts of Dakar, the capital of Senegal. Hip-hop culture was born in the south Bronx but has spread around the world. And everywhere it goes, hip-hop is a way for young people to say what’s on their mind. There’s even a community center in Senegal devoted to promoting hip-hop in underdeveloped suburbs. Founded by the Senegalese rapper Matador and called Africulturban, the center holds a free star-studded rap festival each year in Dakar and helps young artists polish their skills. A stage light glows at Africulturban, a community center in Dakar that promotes hip-hop.Claire Harbage for NPRhide captiontoggle captionClaire Harbage for NPRA member of the up-and-coming group Carre D’as records in a studioon the outskirts of Dakar. The https://www.avalancheshine.com/Peter-Forsberg-Jersey group’s name means “ace cards.”Ryan Kellman for NPRhide captiontoggle captionRyan Kellman for NPR”Muz” is a rapper from the group Killa Niawtef. He’s one of many young men who expre s themselves through hip-hop.Claire Harbage for NPRhide captiontoggle captionClaire Harbage for NPROn this night in Guediawaye, a densely populated neighborhood of about 300,000 people, the rappers almost all of whom are men are very aware of their mi sion.”We are the voices of the voicele s,” says the rapper known as Ngoom Doom, half of Rawu Street, “For us that is hip-hop.” The rappers and their fans have their roots in Futa Toora, a once-fertile stretch of land along the Senegal River, some 150 miles from Dakar and not far from the Sahara Desert. Since the 1980s, rainfall has been steadily decreasing in this region. Many of the farmers along the river moved to the capital in search of a better life. They settled in sandy lots just outside the town, crowding into cement houses in walled compounds with their extended families and their goats. In the neighborhood of Guediawaye, people cope with blackouts and flooding from the poor drainage. The children of the migrants grew up seeing their parents struggle and soon were struggling themselves. There aren’t enough jobs for the new generation. Hip-hop gives the men a way to expre s their frustrations. They spit their anger into microphones and shout their lyrics into https://www.avalancheshine.com/J-T-Compher-Jersey the sea of the audience. “Same cats, same dogs / same electoral promises / it’s only two years and we’re already fed up.” That’s the lyrics to “Diogoufi,” which means “nothing has changed” in the local Wolof language. It’s written by the group Keur Gui Wolof for “home.” Ala sane “Khohk” Kadia (left) shakes off pre-show jitters before performing on the sandy streets of a neighborhood in Dakar. Below: Carre D’as practices at the Africulturban community center.Ryan Kellman/Claire Harbage for NPRhide captiontoggle captionRyan Kellman/Claire Harbage for NPRAt a friend’s house, Alioune Diop, who goes by CLD, pours a cup of sweet green tea. Below: A rapper who fled the civil war in Guinea Bi sau. He believes music will improve his life.Ryan Kellman/Claire Harbage for NPRhide captiontoggle captionRyan Kellman/Claire Harbage for NPRClockwise from top left: The rapper Khohk relaxes at a friend’s home. Gouyu Sy strikes a street pose. JamRap works on his music and shows off his grin.Claire Harbage for NPRhide captiontoggle captionClaire Harbage for NPRBest friends Khohk, CLD and Soula, all in the group BFX, hang out in front of CLD’s home.Ryan Kellman for NPRhide captiontoggle captionRyan Kellman for NPREnlarge this imageZendang, a rapper from Mauritania, in his bedroom in Dakar. Below: Rappers perform on a small outdoor stage.Claire Harbage for NPRhide captiontoggle captionClaire Harbage for NPRZendang, a rapper from Mauritania, in his bedroom in Dakar. Below: Rappers perform on a small outdoor stage.Claire Harbage for NPRClockwise from top left: A rapper takes a break at the Africulturban community center. Too Black, who also goes by The Lion of the Desert, waits for an outdoor show to begin. Ala sane Ba is a producer and a rapper. A poster of Matador, Nathan MacKinnon Jersey one of Senegal’s most succe sful rappers, hangs on a wall outside the studio at Africulturban.Claire Harbage/Ryan Kellman for NPRhide captiontoggle captionClaire Harbage/Ryan Kellman for NPRClaire Harbage for NPRThe young people of Dakar rap mainly in Wolof. They hold forth on life, love, inequality, pain and money. They hope for fame, but it usually doesn’t come. Didier Awadi, grandfather of Senegalese rappers, and his group Positive Black Soul is one of the few to achieve international acclaim. Mainly they dream of a different future for themselves and their families. “I know that hip-hop can change Senegal.” says rapper Ala sane “Khohk” Kadia. “I can feel it inside my heart.”Claire Harbage is a documentary photographer. She holds degrees in African studies as well as photography from Ohio University and teaches at the Maine Media Workshops. Ryan Kellman is a photographer and photo editor for NPR’s Science Desk. In 2013, Harbage began working on a documentary about the hip-hop scene in Dakar, Senegal. Dakar, Rap Town (Trailer -Warning) from Claire Harbage on Vimeo.