This week we feature our World Hip Hop special. Black American music has influenced musicians around the world. That's as true of Hip Hop as it was of Blues, Jazz, Gospel and Soul. Check out these Hip Hop-inspired musicians.
Africa
MC Faza Nelly from X Plastaz, Tanzania's most well known hip hop crew who merge Swahili rap and traditional Maasai music, with 'Nini dhambi kwa mwenye dhiki?' Nelly's rap about poverty in Tanzania was partly recorded on top of Ol Doinyo Lengai, a remote, active volcano and the Maasai's 'Mountain of God' which had its 1st major eruption in years the day after he died.
From Senegal, rappers talk about their American influences.
Malian musicians Djekafo with a laid back West African beat
Morroccan rappers La Fouine and Nessbeal with Dirty Suburb Music
French rapper Cedic on the street in Paris, part of the all-night Fete de la Musique (Music Festival) 2010: June 23
French rappers Fonky Family
Bisso na Bisso from Congo live the Hip Hop life in France
Efe Yerom in Madrid Spain
British rapper Tinie Tempah with Labyrinth
SFDK, Nikoh, Korazon Krudo and more Spanish rap
K'Naan hangs out with French rapper Fefe
Germany: Sidoh and GHot
India
Janbaz with Tum Likhlo
Karmacy with Horizons rapping in five different languages: English, Spanish, Hindi, Gujarati and Punjabi
Haji Springer: Indian rap with plenty of urban attitude
Indian rappers DNOAX with 'They See"
Latin America
El Salvador : straight outta 500 years of poverty
Guatamala: Street Poetry (Poesia Callejera) with DivarY
Guatamala: Son of Max (El Hijo de Max) with "This Is HipHop' from the concrete streets of Huehuetenango
Mideast
Bahrain: Fast Cars, shades and Soulful Rappers under the hot Desert Sun
Malikah, MC Palestine, Tamer Nafar and seven other samples of Arab rap
Travel to any country and you will find young people like Baba Sillah, a Gambian living in Barcelona, Spain, whose prized possession was a gold chain that spelled TUPAC. Baba and his friends are immigrants who left Africa hoping to find opportunities that didn't exist in their village, where everything revolves around agriculture. They love HipHop and they look to the United States for inspiration. To African Americans still striving for equal opportunities in health, education, it might seem ironic that Africans – and indeed young people everywhere -- look to Black America for empowering images of success. Where they often find these images are in the rap videos that inspire their own music.
Tell us about your favourite rap artists from around the world: helen@theskanner.com
