by Kamyar BashariThe Institute for War & Peace Reporting (MCT)
TEHRAN, Iran—The sound of the Iranian revolution can be heard on the headsets worn by young people all across the country. They’re listening to a wide variety of underground music produced by bands and individuals who have no commercial recording deals and no access to professional […]

 
 DAKAR (AFP) — Some 40 Africans died at sea off Senegal as they were trying to reach the Canary Islands, police said Monday, quoting survivors.They said the boat had set off at the end of November from Diogue Island in southern Senegal, with 130 people aboard, but only 90 were left when it ran aground […]

 
By Scott Bobb Lisbon09 December 2007Bobb report - Download MP3 (644k)  Listen to Bobb report  
Leaders of Africa and the European Union have ended their summit in Portugal by declaring a new era in relations aimed at confronting new global challenges. But they could not avoid sparring over some older issues involving human rights and […]

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Democracy in Dakar’ Film Shows Power of Hip-Hop Among Senegalese YouthBy Jackson Muneza Mvunganyi Washington15 August 2007
Interview with Ben Herson and Mcgee Mcilvan Listen to Interview with Ben Herson and Mcgee Mcilvan
A film on the role of hip-hop in shaping the political discourse in Senegal is getting rave reviews. The documentary Democracy […]

 
Hip-Hop: The Catalyst of Change in African PoliticsSamuel Imende
Africans must pick and choose what aspects of the hip-hop culture to embrace.The late Ahmed Sékou Touré, the founding president of Guinea, once said, “To take part in the African revolution, it is not enough to write a revolutionary song; you must fashion the revolution with the […]

 
African Underground: Herson & McIlvaine Map It  Federal Triangle   Bethesda
THE INTERSECTION OF hip-hop and activism gets a lot of lip service in the U.S., but the reality is that popular rap music is still mostly about the bling, not the political ring. That’s not the case in Senegal, where political hip-hop thrives.Ben Herson (Nomadic […]

Hip-Hop in DakarLuke Branston looks at Dakar’s current hip-hop scene and its influence on politics.
Senegal has adopted hip-hop music since its first occurrence in the early 80s and has made contributions to the international hip-hop scene since the 90s with groups such as Positive Black Soul and Daara J having made an indelible mark […]

Washington – When Native Deen took hip-hop music to Jerusalem in fall 2006, the group of Muslim-American rappers was moved deeply by the holiness of the place and the energy of the hundreds of teens who attended their concerts. Yet nothing came close to the connection the performers felt to their faith during their […]