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World hip-hop questions US rap
A recent international hip-hop festival
which brought together rap artists from around the
world has raised the question of why non-US rap is
so political - whereas mainstream American rap appears
frivolous. Many of the performers at the three-day Trinity International
Hip-Hop Festival in Hartford, Connecticut, were critical
of the way that US rap - which is by far the best-selling
- appears concerned mostly with money, drugs and sex,
and has little to do with its roots in the angry political
expression of groups like Public Enemy or KRS One.
"There's this negative perception of hip-hop
as being a criminal artform, as being the home of
the uneducated and non-thinking people," said
Nigerian MC Oke."When you go across the continents of the Earth,
people are embracing hip-hop as the force to change
and transform the world."
Sex, money and drugs
The artists, who came form countries
as diverse as Brazil, Kenya, and Iraq, were brought
together by the record label Nomadic Wax, in collaboration
with a group of Hartford students and American non-governmental
organisation World Up. The festival was designed to
promote international understanding and community
development through hip-hop.
Rolando Brown, of event sponsors the Hip-hop Association,
said the festival highlighted there was "more
of a focus on positive community development"
outside the US. "Some will argue that it's because
of a lack of an economy, others would say it's because
the international market has always been a little
bit more conducive to development than the US has,"
he added. MC Dola, a Tanzanian rapper who is one of
the biggest-selling artists in East Africa, said that
outside of the US, stars maximise their appeal by
talking about social issues and rapping in their own
language. "We have been able to filter out the
elements of sex, money and drugs - you don't get that
in Tanzania," he explained. "You don't get
airplay if you talk about these things in your music.
Over 99% of the rap in Tanzania is in Swahili - and
it actually has a political message to it. "They
are the records that sell and appeal to a wider demographic
of people than any type of music."
Changing market
However, many artists in Hartford blamed the current
preoccupations of US hip-hop on the music industry,
and stressed they believe record labels and radio
conglomerates are actively promoting negative stereotypes
to bury rap with a positive or political message.
"Being sensational about violence or sex or drugs
is a huge part of it," said Chee Malabar, a rapper
with Asian-American act The Himalayan Project.
"It's easier for Americans to buy into that than
it is to look in the mirror and say, 'some of the
social policies and institutional hierarchies are
messed up'.
"That's hard to sell, and ultimately it's about
selling."
But Jacqueline Springer, of the BBC's urban music
station 1Xtra, said that she strongly disagreed with
this opinion. "People haven't appreciated that although rap
is the biggest-selling genre now, it's layered, so
there are people who are underground, who have more
of a political voice," she said.
She also pointed out that the age of the average rap
fan has decreased, which has transformed what rap
artists produce.
"They don't really want to hear about your opposition
to George Bush - they'd much rather hear about what
you want to do with George Bush's wife," she
said.
"They don't want too much politics or too much
sociological content rammed down their throats, because
they're looking at rap as a fantasy - 'if I can famous,
I can get iced-out teeth as well'."
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