VARIOUS local hip-hop artistes together with their counterparts from South Africa and US, recently took part in the Afrikan Hip-hop Symposium in Harare.
Report by Tinashe Sibanda
The Afrikan Hip-hop Symposium is part of the Afrikan Hip-hop Caravan – an initiative of various grassroots African arts and culture collectives that transcends borders and explores the impact of hip-hop on youth culture in six cities from Tunisia, Senegal, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Artistes engaged in various discussions including the influence of hip-hop on Zimbabwe’s urban culture.
“We felt the need to help out various artistes and academics in hip-hop by giving them such a platform of debate and learning,” the symposium co-ordinator Katja Kellerer, said.
She said after the event she expected a change of mindset towards hip-hop as many people perceived Zimbabwean hip-hop artistes as copycats of the American style.
Having started in Cape Town on February 11, the caravan moved across the continent and presented a week of educational events and performances in Johannesburg, Harare, Nairobi and Dakar, before concluding at the World Social Forum in Tunis at the end of March.
“I have noticed that in Zimbabwe music without live bands is not taken seriously and a lot of people including urban groovers are leaning on live band performances. There is need for people to appreciate the use of turntables and digital technology because that is what hip-hop is all about,” Kellerer said.
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During performances in Harare, Uhuru Network hosted a media reception at the Quill Club, the hip-hop symposium at the University of Zimbabwe and recording sessions at Uhuru Vibes Studios.
There was a workshop and performances at the Book Café and a community outreach event will be held today at Aquatic Complex in Chitungwiza.
Local hip-hop artiste Dizzy Don said the event had been worthwhile for him as it further enriched his musical experience.
“The event gave me a view of hip-hop from different angles and I figured that people from various countries understood the subject in various ways,” South African hip-hop artiste Anela Stuurrman said.
