S/D African hip-hop

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I'm a good-sized fan of Africa Raps (Trikont, 2002), The Rough Guide to African Hip-Hop (World Music Network, 2004), which have some overlap between them (the RG is easier to find, Raps slightly better) and in a more hip-house vein, Kwaito: South African Hip Hop (Sterns/Earthworks, 2000).

― Matos W.K., Sunday, 13 May 2007 07:30 (sixteen years ago) link

the Urban Africa Club comp does sound nice as well, on the one listen I gave it

― Matos W.K., Sunday, 13 May 2007 07:30 (sixteen years ago) link

Thanks guys!

― dryga, Sunday, 13 May 2007 08:25 (sixteen years ago) link

Just avoid kwaito, it's boring and reactionary. And for some reason all their videos are tinted yellow.

― MacDara, Sunday, 13 May 2007 09:01 (sixteen years ago) link

http://awesometapesfromafrica.blogspot.com/
http://www.africanhiphopradio.com/

― daria-g, Sunday, 13 May 2007 15:44 (sixteen years ago) link

geir hongro's guide to ultra melodic african hip-hop

― gershy, Sunday, 13 May 2007 15:50 (sixteen years ago) link

Just avoid kwaito, it's boring and reactionary.

I can't say I'm that knowledgeable about it, but I've heard a couple of kwaito rappers, such as Teba, who are anything but reactionary.

― Tuomas, Sunday, 13 May 2007 16:02 (sixteen years ago) link

alot of kwaito is nice dance music.

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 13 May 2007 21:17 (sixteen years ago) link

Is Teba actually kwaito though? Unless all South African hip hop is automatically kwaito.

― Alex in SF, Sunday, 13 May 2007 21:24 (sixteen years ago) link

I posted this link elsewhere, but there is lots of good South African kwaito/hip hop, Angolan kudoro, etc in this mix (in addition to some great Berber, Moroccan, rai, reggaeton, etc. . .):

http://www.sonar.es/alacarta2006/alacarta_eng.htm#

― Alex in SF, Sunday, 13 May 2007 21:27 (sixteen years ago) link

Kwaito used to mean South African house music, but now the meaning has changed somewhat. I'm less familiar with what currently gets considered kwaito.

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 13 May 2007 21:30 (sixteen years ago) link

Get the soundtrack to the movie Tsotsi.

― unperson, Sunday, 13 May 2007 22:29 (sixteen years ago) link

south africa's got homegrown hiphop and house music that aren't kwaito - kwaito was and still is music with a tempo and structure at the mid-point between house and dancehall, sometimes with rapping (harsher and sharper than most US rap - more mystikal, less lil wayne i guess), more often with choruses, chants and other repeated vocal hooks, and its not unusual to find it in the company of reduced synth melodies (like crunk in that way i suppose). skwatta kamp and pitch black afro are acts that veer between kwaito and more trad hip-hop (with skwatta as more hiphop, pitch black as more kwaito)

― jermainetwo, Monday, 14 May 2007 07:45 (sixteen years ago) link

kwaito was and still is music with a tempo and structure at the mid-point between house and dancehall, sometimes with rapping, more often with choruses, chants and other repeated vocal hooks

It's that repetition that makes it so boring for me. It's too motorik and lifeless, which is at odds with the vibrancy evident elsewhere in South African culture. But that's just one reporter's opinion.

― MacDara, Monday, 14 May 2007 10:42 (sixteen years ago) link

I've heard a couple of kwaito rappers, such as Teba, who are anything but reactionary.

I didn't mean that in the political sense, just to avoid any confusion, so apologies. I meant it in the sense of merely reacting to what others are doing, and not pushing forward into new ground, in terms of my previous comment.

― MacDara, Monday, 14 May 2007 10:44 (sixteen years ago) link

outta date, but...

http://blogs.citypages.com/pscholtes/2006/07/african_hip_hop.asp

― Pete Scholtes, Monday, 14 May 2007 14:42 (sixteen years ago) link

one year passes...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zEUOkxiQJY

Afrikan Boy doing Lil' Wayne "A Milli"

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 17 August 2008 22:50 (fifteen years ago) link

http://www.africanhiphop.com/ and fader

― curmudgeon, Sunday, 17 August 2008 23:46 (fifteen years ago) link

Christgau hates on African hiphop in a recent Sasha Frere-Jones New Yorker blog posting

― curmudgeon, Monday, 18 August 2008 06:35 (fifteen years ago) link

two months pass...

Just saw "Living the Hiplife" a great 1 hour doc on Ghanaian hiplife (hiphop with sampled highlife music) done with the godfather of Ghanaian hiplife and hiphop Reggie Rockstone.

Historical footage is remixed with studio and concert material painting a portrait of urban culture in Accra’s streets. The film ties political history together with vibrant musical life to look at the economic hopes and musical dreams of young Ghanaians as they confront the realities of corporate sponsorship, political change, and international hopes. This film was shot in Standard DV between 2003-6 with a small Ghanaian and American film and audio crew.

― curmudgeon, Saturday, 18 October 2008 22:27 (fifteen years ago) link

african hip-hop?

― curmudgeon, Saturday, 18 October 2008 22:29 (fifteen years ago) link

four years pass...

Friday October 4 in Washington D.C. at Tropicalia:

Malian rapper Amkoullel and Sierra Leonean diaspora rapper, Chosan. I've heard of Amkoullel, but don't recall much. Don't know Chosan

― curmudgeon, Monday, 23 September 2013 14:31 (ten years ago) link

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