Once and a while on Benn loxo I like to remind listeners that African music isn’t all about koras and djembes. There are lots of sounds coming out of the continent these days and not all of them are strictly related to “traditional” music, nor do they all sound like they should filed under “World” at your local Virgin megastore.

I’ve featured quite a bit of hip-hop from Senegal, South African and Nigeria over the past couple years. It’s been a while, so why not listen to some more. Today we’ll hear some contemporary hip-hop and drum’n'bass sounds from Tanzania.

I know that many of you already know the Xplastaz track, but I’ve never featured it on my site and it’s one of my favourite hip-hop tracks to come out of the continent. This song has particular resonance for me. When I first arrived in Paris a little over a year ago I went to this house party near Opera Garnier. A Benn loxo listener, Olivier, had invited me. I walked into what I thought would be a small gathering to find a multi-room dance party in a partially constructed building filled with a few hundred people all busting up the dancefloor to… Tanzanian hiphop? What a great way to start off a city.

The other two tracks are off Mapito, the Tanzanian Mix Tape Remix Project. This compilation really reflects for me how far East African hip-hop has come over the past few years. Both production and musical quality has really, really improved since the scene started opening up during the late 90s and early 2ks.

Both Xplastaz and Mapito are on the excellent African hip-hop label, Nomadic Wax. You’ve heard stuff here already off their release, African Underground Vol. 1: Hip-Hop Senegal. Much more info on African urban sounds at Africanhiphop.com.

X Plastaz – Msimu kwa msimu
Owen Saunders & Mike Freear feat LC, Bennamo, Yega & Mr. Soo – Self Destruct
Mr. Soap – Niwachache Tu (Timebomb Remix)

A Benn loxo listener, Joe, wrote me an e-mail today from Sri Lanka including a request for some more Nigerian hiphop.

I grabbed a few tracks by Mode 9 off africanhiphop.com the other day. A couple of them are pretty good, including the one I’ll post today.

Mode 9 was an Abuja-area rapper on Payback Tyme records who’s apparently moved to Lagos now. Who knows if he’s still producing any music, but anyone who can pull off a lyric like “slaughtering fools, like a bunch of crazy Toaregs,” gets my respect. Listen to the end to see if you can understand any of the brokan, Nigeria’s unofficial language.

The second track I’m posting is actually a video by Terry Tha Rapman – sorry about the Windows Media format. Mode 9 and Terry The Rapman were both part of the Abuja rap crew, SWATROOT.

This thing is seriously funny. My favourite line has to be, “who needs Calvin Klein when you got Coco Klein?” as he’s sifting through a classic West African street market.

ps- has anyone else been to Abuja? I find it pretty funny that a city so stale (à la Brasilia) could produce a rap scene.

Mode 9
Terry Tha Rapman – I am a Nigerian

If you haven’t already, be sure to check-out africanhiphop.com and senerap.com.

I’ll let the sites speak for themselves, but I got a special kick out of the track “Caution” by Lagos’ Outshine. Available here.

I’ve posted a lot of Senegalese and some Gambian hip-hop on this site, but I haven’t really touched on other countries. There’s been a lot of buzz in the music media lately about Kenyan hip-hop, but I’ve never been to Kenya so I can’t help you there.

Having said this I went to reach for some kwaito/hiphop from South Africa that I picked up in Johannesburg a while back. Unfortunately I can’t seem to find any of the CDs and didn’t seem to rip them either. So give me a while and I’ll find some more..

In the meantime I do have some hilarious Nigerian pop and hip-hop compilations from 2003 and 2004 that I picked up in Lagos and Abuja on my numerous trips there. Unfortunately I have no idea (again) what any of the song names are or who they’re by, but no matter.

The song I’m posting today was really big on Nigerian radio when I was there for the Queen of England’s visit in December, 2003. I do hope that it’s actually Nigerian – for all I know it could be from anywhere, but I’m pretty sure that’s a Yoruba rapping in Brokan.

It’s off a compilation called “Afro Hip Hop Jamz Vol. 1″ that I guarantee you can’t buy anywhere outside of Nigeria. (Sorry)

ps- for those who haven’t seen it, there was a very funny article written about me in Punch (a Nigerian national daily) when I was working in Abuja once. The best part is that they made up my quote!

2-shotz – Carry Am Go

Damn, what the hell happened? I used to have all the time in the world. Now I’m at work and it’s 5:40pm and all I can say is this:

If you couldn’t look to Benn loxo du taccu for your Senegalese hip-hop needs, what then? Here’s some Dakar-area old school hip-hop. Well, old school in Dakar hip hop terms: a couple tracks off Jololi‘s year 2000 compilation, Da Hop.

ps- Sorry about the skip or two. Scratched CDs are tough to rip.

Posse & Doudou – Africa Lakalé
Boul N’Baï – SIDA

I’m finally heading back to Dakar today after over six weeks of work and vacation in Canada, the US and France. In honour of this I’m going to answer my most frequent request at Benn loxo: Senegalese rap.

Here’s a relatively recent (mid-2004) release from a group of several Senegalese up and comers (“nouveau talent”) in the Dakar rap scene, Le Collectif. I can’t tell you who they all are, but the second-half of the first rap verse is definitely Fou Malade. He has one of the most distinctive sounds on the scene, as you may have heard on his great track Taxi Man with Vivianne N’Dour that I featured here a while back.

Anyway. I’ve said a lot about Senegalese rap already on this site so I’m going to cut it short today. But enjoy. I like this track, and it’s a great example of well-produced Dakarois-Wolof rap.

ps- if you haven’t already, check out the great Ayub Ogada track over at Akwaaba Sound System.

Le Collectif – SIDA

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

The 4th annual Senegalese hip-hop awards are going on this week in Dakar.

While Senegalese hip-hop (known locally as “Senerap”) may not be to everyone’s taste, you can’t deny it’s influence and importance on the African music scene. Senegal, this little country in West Africa, probably has the most developed rap concert and recording scene anywhere on the continent. The amount of new groups coming out who record well-produced singles is pretty amazing. Their influences range from 50-Cent to Saain Supa Crew, and they produce a wide variety of sounds for the super-large speakers at Sandaga market in Dakar.

I’ve said this before, but it’s also amazing to me how the rap here is so non-violent. The rappers usually sing about the ladies, how much they love their country, how much they love their God or how much they love their parents. The occasional angry stuff almost sounds out of place in a scene devoted to hard-core rapping about happy things.

Many of you have written asking for more Daara-J. Over the last couple of years they’ve supplanted Positive Black Soul and Pee Froiss as the most popular rap group in Senegal. They’ve also started to make a name for themselves outside of Senegal, touching French and Belgian markets with their 2003 album Boomerang, relased on the UK label Wrasse.

I also promised some “nouveau talent” from the Dakar rap scene this month. So today and tomorrow I’ll be posting music from some new and promising groups on the scene. Today we get the Dakar All-Stars, a group of top Senegalese rappers from various neighbourhoods in Dakar, with a De La tribute track title.

ps- the picture in today’s post is of K’s wall-size mural that hangs in our living room. It’s by Dakar’s Les Mizérables graffiti crew who would be happy to make you a t-shirt or mural if you want one – send me an e-mail and I’ll put you in touch.

Daara-J – Number One
Dakar All-Stars – Ego Sunu Trip

I’ve posted quite a few West African hip-hop tracks but I don’t think I’ve posted any Afro-French or Afro-American hip-hop collaborations. There are loads but two that stick out in my mind are 113′s “Voix du Mali” with Oumou Sangaré off their 2003 album Dans l’urgence (thanks, sufi, for reminding me about this track) and Tony Allen’s Jekalewa off the Nu Afrobeat Experience compilation.

OK, you probably know all about Tony Allen. Pioneer of afro-beat along with Fela Kuti, drummer and one of the main forces behind the Africa 70 band, &c &c &c. His trademark rhythm is timeless and instantly recognizable. You still hear it on great albums such as the Allenko Brotherhood Ensemble compilation and those by Antibalas. Allen is especially cool since he hasn’t stopped trying new things- he continues to release a wide variety of tunes with rnb, soul, hip-hop, jazz and even house musicians and DJs. He may be a little age-ed but the guy manages to stay cutting edge.

113, named after the Parisian banlieue 113 (think lower-class French suburb), are most famous outside of France for that unfortunate but oh-so-catchy tune “Tonton du bled” that came out when I was living in Paris a few years back. I promise they’re more than that, though, and even though I’m not a super-fan they have some solid tracks. Today’s pick is, in my opinion, one of them. Sangaré’s singing is beautiful and the rapping/rhythm works well. Listen especially to the last minute and a half or so.

Tony Allen – Jekalewa
113 – Voix du Mali feat. Oumou Sangaré

Apparently a bunch of people from Quannum will be hitting this site rather soon. I figured I’d post some more Wolof hip-hop to greet them.

A quick guide to understanding 90% of rap lyrics in Wolof:

xalis – cash money (the x is pronounced like a growling h)
soxna si – a lady
xale yi – the ladies (literally means “the children”)
Bamba – Cheikh Amadou Bamba, 19th century spiritual leader of Mouride Islam

There, I think that’s all we need.

The great thing about Senegal and Senegalese youth is that they’d usually rather listen to local hip-hop than the latest American rap or RnB. Not only can they better understand the Wolof lyrics, but they also appreciate the message more. You hear very little about vice, guns and blood and more about peace in the south or how to marry those hard-to-get Senegalese ladies.

On the main coastal road leading out of downtown there’s a big graffiti piece on the beat-up wall of a mosque complex. It features three Senegalese gangster rap types guys sitting around a fire drinking a mint tea called attaya. This pretty much sums up the scene, in a good way…

The first track was a big hit this year. You’d hear it all the time while riding in Dakar’s famously decorated taxis. It again features Youssou N’Dour’s step-sister Viviane on backup vocals. The second track gives an idea of the kind of hip-hop coming out of Dakar’s poor and bustling downtown district called the Medina. Lastly, since you guys all seemed to enjoy the Senegalese-style PIMP a few posts ago the third track is another faux-cover fresh from the depths of Sandaga market in Dakar.

ps- the title of this post means “rap from my country” in Wolof. And for those of you who don’t know already, benn loxo du taccu means “one hand can’t clap.” It’s a Wolof proverb used to express how you can’t do anything without community.

Viviane & Fou Malade – Taximan
Big D – La Leon
Gokh Bi System – Suma Djigune