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African Rap Culture

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The musical art form of rap has its historical roots embedded in African culture. Thousands of years before traditional, African American rap hit the streets of the Bronx, West African griots had been rhythmically telling stories to their peers while playing simple instruments. This form of communicating messages while speaking over a beat provides the original framework for the development of contemporary rap. After African natives were shipped along the Middle Passage during the era of slavery, they would often find themselves spiritually depleted and turned toward the power of song for refuge from their horrid lives. In the fields, a designated song leader would sing a phrase of a song and the other slaves would follow with the subsequent …show more content…
The art is still primarily used to discuss a large variety of issues that plague the inhabitants of each of the regions. Rap has shown its effectiveness at uniting bodies of youth under common ideals. African rappers are fueled by their young, energetic fans who frequently dream of bettering their current living conditions. Rappers have begun to use their craft as a way to inform the younger demographic about political topics. However, African rappers use their music to discuss social issues as well such as sexual harassment, poverty, famine, and education. In North Africa, the modern day rap artists are using hip-hop as a platform to address many societal issues of their respective countries. Weld El 15, a rapper from Tunisia, released a song a few years ago titled “The Police Are Dogs” in which he speaks on police brutality in Tunisia. Ibn Thabit’s song “We Are All Born in Nine Months” was written to combat the violence and social turmoil between different groups in Libya. MC Dahab of Egypt is known for his tendency to critique the perversion of the Islamic Faith in his country as he is a firm Muslim

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