50 YEARS OF HIP HOP—WHERE TO NEXT?

The music genre known as hip hop turned 50 this year, a great time to engage in self-reflection. For at least three decades, a controversial debate has raged about the propriety of recording artists rapping about violence and drug use in their music

Rappers themselves have been blamed, and many, like Young Thug, find their freedom on the line, as US courts have turned to using lyrics as evidence. Parents have been blamed for not doing enough to control the consumption habits of their children. And, of course, African youth themselves have been blamed as the perpetrators of degeneracy and reckless abandon.

However, US-based rapper and professor Dee-1 said in this 30 October interview with radio programme ‘Sway’s Universe’ that we should pay closer attention to the collusion between record labels and veteran artists.

Continued….Many artists who come from marginalized communities, including African youth, may use their music to express the challenges they face in their daily lives. In some cases, this might be a genuine reflection of their experiences, rather than a result of exploitation.

But how does this explain rappers who have ‘made it,’ and continue to promote music based on demoralising themes? Dee-1 reminds us the music industry is not just driven by market influences, but it actually influences the market itself.

Ultimately, how much can African people continue to claim ownership of an art form, which has been taken so far out of our control? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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WHAT IS THE CAPITAL CITY OF NIGER?

We’re back on the streets with another exciting edition of Afriquiz! Watch - and join in - as host Miss Phyll tries to tease the right answers out of her contestants. Do you know the correct pronunciation of the capital of Namibia? Let us know in the comments which questions you got right.

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EGYPT’S SUEZ CRISIS VICTORY

Did you know there was a time an African country went to war with Britain, France and Israel and came out on top? It’s referred to as the 1956 Suez Crisis, or the Tripartite Aggression. It’s story time!

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WE'RE NOT VOTING FOR BIDEN AGAIN

Africans in America are turning away from Joe Biden and the Democratic Party. They feel let down by their 2020 election promises. The Republicans also don’t offer much hope, so what’s the answer?

Instagram and TikTok host Mila Bratt argues that step one is to realise that the ballot is not the way for Blacks to make their voice heard. As she points out, the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 - yet African brothers and sisters are still marginalised in the US. She urges Blacks not to be fooled by Biden or whoever his rival will be come next year - nor by gimmicks like the ‘vote or die’ campaign.

She urges Africans in America instead to unite - to come together, organise, and take care of their own problems, along the model of the Black Panther Party. Have a listen to what she has to say and let us know if she’s convinced you that the hard-won right to vote is in fact a waste of time.

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85 PEOPLE RICHER THAN 3.5 BILLION

If you want a clear sign that capitalism has failed Africa, here is an eye-opener: according to a study by Oxfam, the wealth of just 85 individuals matches that of a staggering 3.5 billion of the planet's most marginalised. Our continent is home to 1.2 billion and we bear a large brunt of that poverty - despite our abundant resources.

Whereas this should be a wake up call for change, some are cheering the Oxfam findings - saying they will motivate the less well off to work even harder to overcome their circumstances and become super-rich! Watch Canadian businessman Kevin O'Leary leave a TV news host aghast when he tries to argue precisely that.

He thinks it’s proof capitalism works. We think it’s proof the system is rigged against us. What do you think?

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US SUPPORTS GENOCIDE OF PALESTINE

One of the biggest revelations from the aftermath of the 7 October Israeli-Palestine escalation is just how far the United States is willing to go to continue the Israel's genocidal occupation.

In this 7 November video out of Florida’s legislature, after an African representative named Angie Martin raised concern over the Israeli attacks on Gaza, another representative named Michelle Salzman allegedly was heard saying, 'All of them.' Many took that as a call for the complete annihilation of Palestinians. Meanwhile, the only Palestinian in the US House of Representatives, Rashida Tlaib, was censured after calling for an end to the massacre of her people. This occurred a few days after 300,000 people marched in support of Palestine in Washington DC. Other actions throughout the United States have garnered mainstream media coverage, which is not the norm.

Continued….A month after the escalation of the 75-year-old conflict between Palestine and Israel, the Zionist state's military has killed more than 11,000 civilians. That figure includes more than 4,200 children. Thus far, the United States has vetoed two UN resolutions for a ceasefire in Gaza, continues sending weapons, sent a group of aircraft carriers to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and its House of Representatives recently approved a motion—due to be approved by the US Senate and US President Joe Biden—to give Israel an additional $14 billion in military aid. This is on top of the $3.8 billion in annual military aid it gives Israel, even as the Zionist state maintains a system of apartheid in Palestine.

Let us know what you think.

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THE ASTRAL DOGON PEOPLE OF MALI

There’s a mystery surrounding Mali’s ancient Dogon people. How did they apparently know something about the starry heavens that astronomers only discovered relatively recently? We’re talking the existence of a second star near Sirius A (aka the Dog Star) - the brightest in the night sky. It forms a binary system with the far less bright Sirius B, which is hidden to the naked eye (and even to smaller telescopes). And yet Dogon folklore speaks of a ‘hidden world’ near Sirius A. Brace yourself for a tale of visitation by a race of alien mermen and mermaids!

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BRIGHT ‘N’ BREEZY: YOUNG INVENTOR HARNESSES WIND

Meet the young Malawian for whom inventing things is a breeze. He was just 14 when he built a wind turbine for his village!

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TEARS OF THE CONGO

Being far away in the diaspora doesn’t mean what’s happening back at home on the continent doesn’t matter deeply to you. Watch as a Congolese sister in America fights back the tears to try and raise awareness of all the crises facing her native DRC right now - the butchery and the genocide in the east, the rebel groups indirectly financed with Western funds, the huge internal refugee emergency, the child slavery in the multinational ‘horror’ mines, the Western exploitation of her nation’s abundant mineral riches for profit and for the creation of gadgets the world needs but most Congolese will never own. She admits the pain gets too much when she reflects on all this and feels frustration at nothing having changed in over a decade of activism and awareness-raising - something that’s left her in despair and close to giving up.

Continued….We think her message needs to be heard far and wide - her cry for help speaks for millions of desperate Congolese, and Africa will only ever be truly free when the giant Congo is. Please watch, like, and share, share, share. And show some love and support for @hindirlane in the comments.

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AL AHLY FANS CHANT FOR PALESTINE

Al Ahly football club fans recently showed their support to Palestinians under Israeli occupation during a game against South African club Mamelodi Sundowns. Al Ahly is the team with most Egyptian and African noscripts in football and was voted the African team of the century in the year 2000.

Al Ahly fans or ‘Ultras Ahlawys,’ as they are known, have long been political and played a key role in the 2011 revolution on 25 January. Alongside Zamalek’s White Knights, their rivals, they led mass protests in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, demanding freedom, an aversion of cost of living crisis and human dignity, from now-ousted President Hosni Mubarak.

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EXECS CENSOR HIP HOP

Hip hop's origins were socio-political. It was created in the dire economic conditions of the South Bronx to express the struggle of Africans in the United States, most of whom live in poverty or working-class conditions. In this excerpt from the Savior's Day Convention held years ago near Chicago, USA, recording artist Wise Intelligent breaks down how record labels have facilitated an atmosphere for artists to promote negative stereotypes and tropes about African communities. But when they want to discuss state-sponsored police brutality, they are censored.

Through examples he raises of artists, such as JT the Bigga Figga and former G-unit rapper Young Buck, it is understood record labels demand a message that encourages gun violence among young Africans.

What do you think about the state of hip-hop? Is this all by design? Or are the artists, not the record companies, to blame? Let us know in the comments.

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Every week, African Stream likes to draw attention to certain facts. This week, it’s some truths about China's supposed debt-trap diplomacy in Africa. Chew them over with us in the comments.

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