African Underground: Vol. 1, Hip-Hop Senegal
(Nomadic Wax)
According to the New Left Review, the present, global urban population is 3.2 billion. This means half the world's population now lives in cities, and it's predicted that by the next generation that number will rise to 4 billion. In the context of these developments, hiphop's current global popularity is understandable. It has as much to do with the general dominance of American cultural forms as the fact that hiphop is an entirely urban art. Hiphop was born in the very same kinds of slums that in the near future will be home for much of the world's population.
On the new compilation African Underground: Vol. 1, Hip-Hop Senegal, the concerns of urbanized African rappers correspond directly with the concerns of early (1979-1983) and modern (1984-1993) American hiphop. Rap songs of the past that responded to what Goldie called "inna city pressure" (corrupt law enforcement, extreme poverty, poor housing and education) now offer the tools and technologies (in the Foucault sense) with which Africans can express their present experiences in the ever-expanding slums of Senegal. The world is fast becoming the Bronx.
Though their material conditions are miserable, the sonic culture of Senegal's rappers and DJs is far from impoverished. Over the past four years, there has been an explosion of talent, an abundance of energy and ingenuity--a very small part of which can be heard on African Underground. Not only is the music political, but, as exampled by songs like "Missalu Aduna" (Omzo) and "Art Attendan" (Yat Fu), it is filled with beauty. For Senegal's youth, hiphop is still a "black CNN" (source of information) and "in the club" (a source of pleasure).