Dec 9/04
Hip Hop Galsene
So I went to see one of the Senegal Hip-Hop Awards shows last night at Dakar’s French Cultural Centre. Some groups were pretty funny (including a MC holding a pink plastic cane and sporting a head lamp - supa ghetto), others interesting (Cameroonian mask wearing RnB dancers), and a couple really good (Daara-J almost always puts on a good show). We were particularly impressed by a young MC from Abidjan/Geneva named Kajeem. I’m hopefully going to get a hold of him today so I can grab one of his mixtapes to post on the site.
Anyway, I promised yesterday that I’d post some more “nouveau talent” from the Dakar hip-hop scene. Today you get Flamm J, a politicized Dakar rap group most famous for their big religious kick and attacks on the “corrupting influence” of mbalax music and dancing on young Senegalese women (see this site’s logo). I like them, however, for their incorporation of local instruments into their beats. You’ll hear some kora on today’s track.
The second song is by Bidew Bou Bess (Wolof for “A new star”). I posted this track not because these guys are wildly popular, but rather because they have a unique sound. They use traditional Senegalese singing styles and instruments in their hip-hop with interesting results. And yes, the chorus is a chant to Allah. And yes, much of Senegalese hip-hop is religious. Local spiritual leaders, marabouts, often align themselves with popular hip-hop groups to get their message across and stay on top of the competitive Senegalese Islam power game.
ps- a friend just pointed me to a Slate article about the history of the word “hip”. The author featured in the article thinks that it’s derived from the Wolof word xeppi (pronounced “heppy”) which roughly means “to open one’s eyes”. Thought this was appropriate given the last couple days of posts…
Flamm J - Wedi Guiss (I won’t believe it ’till I see it)
Bidew Bou Bess - Mbaye
December 9th, 2004 at 4:17 pm
Did you get the email I sent you a couple days ago?
December 28th, 2004 at 8:24 pm
Have you heard of this guy, Lord Ekomy Ndong? I am just blown away by his talent.
I believe he is from Gabon (Africa). Audio files of Lord Ekomy Ndong can be found at movaizhaleine.com
P.S. I reside in the USA.
January 14th, 2005 at 9:18 am
omzo and pbs
June 5th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
The story about jive, hip and other words being inherited from wolof words like xippikat, xippi, xonq etc is almost considered a hoax among linguists, or at least it is really not something that people agree upon. Sad, really, I’d love wolof to have hade that impact on english!
June 15th, 2005 at 7:48 am
hey guys pliz can you give me some websites where i can listen to rap wolofffff plizzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz dats really important fo me . i already know http://www.almadies.net there are some songs but ……..
October 6th, 2005 at 8:38 pm
Yeah ;
This Young Singer nommed Lord Ekomy Ndong from Gabon is really a great Showman and his Lyrics are so Faboulos
May 8th, 2006 at 7:11 pm
hip hop gal sene
May 17th, 2006 at 12:26 am
LE MEILLEUR DU RAP GALSEN C’EST SUR:
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
rapgalsen.skyblog.com
November 13th, 2006 at 2:08 am
when i was a student at universite gaston berger, i was excited about going to the local rap concerts held on campus every so often assuming foolishly that rap concerts in senegal were similar to ones i have ben to in the united states. The first one i went to i skipped out as soon as i saw it- nobody was dancing so i went out clubbing in town. The second one i went to with some of my guy friends on campus. i was there for maybe 10 minutes before the rapper launched into a verbal mysogenistic attack on the female students of the university. Pointing to the one female-only dorm on campus, he stated that the women inside there dressed unacceptably, he had seen men pull up to the gates, and that the women inside were like prositutes, and not real students. he called all the female students whores and, as it was known on campus i was unmarried and seeing a mauritanian student , my male friends decided to escort me home. The angry stares i got walking away reminded me of stories about attacks on female students in morrocco and pakistan i had heard recently. out of the crowd of thousands at that concert, there were maybe two or three women. I did not meet women in senegal who listened to rap- galsene, french or american.
June 5th, 2007 at 7:25 pm
slt atout le j’aime trip le hip hop fans club gaston n1 dans tout le monde
June 5th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
slt a tout le j’aime le hip hop fans club gaston n1
June 5th, 2007 at 7:28 pm
c moi mamadou khouma fans clb gaston n1
June 5th, 2007 at 7:31 pm
c moi mamadou khouma fans club gaston n1 alias baye sene xel kom la
November 3rd, 2007 at 2:44 pm
slt c malick je fai parti d fan’s de gaston car il est le number du rap galsen
March 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I’m a Senegalese living in the United States. I’ m a real fan of hiphop galsen.However, i can’t find or i don’t know any web site that can feed my thirsty of galsen hiphop. So any king of info concerning this matter is welcomed.SENEGAL, please stand up, we luv yo
March 18th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
I’m a Senegalese living in the United States. I’ m a real fan of hiphop galsen.However, i can’t find or i don’t know any web site that can feed my thirsty of galsen’s hiphop. So any king of info concerning this matter is welcomed.SENEGAL, please stand up, we luv yo
November 1st, 2008 at 9:12 pm
Papelazar, check out Kingsize.sn - Senegal’s #1 hip hop magazine…you can put up a profile like on myspace and connect with artists and folks on the ground…stay abreast of the galsen happenings. Peace.