HIP HOP IS NOT DEAD IN AFRICA

RWANDA

Hip hop spread to Rwanda in the early to mid-1980s. The most prominent figure in the early Rwandan scene was DJ Berry (Nsabimana Abdul Aziz), who was a DJ for Kigali Night and Cosmos and a presenter for Radio Rwanda, in addition to being an early rapper and breakdancer. The Rwandan government of the period did not approve of hip hop, however, and DJ Berry was forced into exile in Goma, Zaire, where he continued performing. He later moved on to Germany and recorded "Hey You", which became a hit on both Rwandan and Ugandan radio. After returning to Africa in 1990, Berry continued to promote hip hop in Rwanda until his death from AIDS in 1996. By the mid-1990s, hip hop was growing increasingly popular in Rwanda, due to the introduction of 101 FM Kigali and TVR in 1995, and American and French rappers like Tupac Shakur and MC Solaar became popular.

The first locally recorded Rwandan hip hop hit was "Peaced Up" by KP Robinson ft Mc Monday Assoumani. This was promoted by DJ Alex of Radio Rwanda from 1997. The song inspired many youths around Kigali to begin recording.^{[citation needed]} The famous rapper MC Monday Assoumani, after his tune with Robisons, started his radio presenting career at local FM known as Radio10, where he promoted Rwandan local artists from 2004 to 2011. From 2012 he is no longer using the name MC Monday; he is now rebranded as SAGA Assou Gashumba. Wanting to help the Rwandan music industry, he started a record label named IYI Production, which also rebranded as C4D Production.

Hip hop is growing up in this country and recently SAGA Assou released a song titled "I want you back", a hit song which is a mixture of English and Kinyarwanda.

Senegal

Daara J live in Berlin

Senegal has one of the most active hip hop scenes on the continent, and has produced international stars like MC Solaar. US hip hop became popular in Senegal in the early 1980s, and a few MCs began rapping. During this period, many Senegalese rappers were copying American performers quite closely. One often-cited reason for the prominence of Senegalese hip hop is the ancient musical and oral traditions of that country, which include some practices, like griots and tassou, which are similar to rapping.

It was not until later in the decade that a more distinctive Senegalese sound began evolving, along with the use of Wolof lyrics. The 1990s saw a division in the Senegalese scene, with some artists remaining underground, associated with the American alternative hip hop scene, while others, like Black Mboolo ("Alal"), fused hip hop with Senegalese mbalax style, (this is called "mbalax rap" or "rap ragga soul"), which uses the sabar drums. The most prominent performers from the modern period include Positive Black Soul, Daara J, and Akon. Others include M.C. Solaar, Black Face, and Didier Awadi.

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