adminThe behaviour of its practitioners on and off screen does not help the cause of the genre. Whether it is the gun totting stints of rapper TI, the animal abuse charges hovering over DMX or the spitting at the camera antics of the late Tupac Shakur, hip hop figures have never covered themselves in glory.
Women in videos are paraded, scantily clad, much to the chagrin of feminists, while the artistes themselves appear wearing the most expensive watches and heavy gold chains.
These videos are seen to be demeaning women and promoting a culture of materialism, as youths are drawn towards a lifestyle that their favourite rappers are constantly celebrating.
However, the bone of contention for critics of the genre is the lyrical content that characterises some of the genre’s most popular songs.
While a stream of socially and politically conscious hip-hop exists at an underground level most of today’s popular songs are littered with misogynistic and violent lyrics that seemingly celebrate and glorify the violence that plagues American society.
The youthful following that the genre commands is a cause for concern among many as young minds can be easily twisted by what they hear and see on a day-to-day basis.
American hip-hop has not always been about the money, the women or the “bling”. Rap pioneers like Grand Master Flash and KRS-one addressed social ills in their music while groups like Public Enemy protested vehemently to what they perceived as black oppression in their songs like Welcome to the Terror-dome and Fight the power. Another pioneer, Rakim, neglected all forms of vulgarity in his music, staying away from curses and promoting the teachings of the Muslim group, the five percent nation.
However, in Bulawayo rap practitioners have strayed away from the stereotypical bad boy rapper image that is cultivated by American icons. Here the lyrical content is grounded on firm African principles, as practitioners are aware of the moral standards that they are supposed to adhere to. The message seems to be, hip-hop started in America, but this is Africa and Africans have their own stories that have to be told in an African way.
Winner of the da-grape-vine local hip hop chart competition Tammy Jubbs believes artistes in the city have admiration for American rappers, as they are where they want to reach also as artistes.
However, he believes that in contrast to their counterparts in the US they have a moral code that they have to adhere to, while also making sure that they tell the story of the man on the street. The motto seems to be “The African man”, his story seen and told from an African perspective.
“There are a lot of similarities between us and American rappers, because those guys set the standard and we aspire to be like them. However, as African artistes, we have our limits and our duty as storytellers is to tell stories that are uniquely African and relevant to Africans as well.
“As a Zimbabwean artiste my job is to tell our youth about the opportunities that our country has afforded through indigenisation and taking ownership of our resources and other such initiatives,” said Jubbs.
Another rapper, POY, believes that most Zimbabwean rappers are diverse in their lyrics, unlike American artistes whose lyrics always dwell on the same topics with little variety. He said Zimbabwean rappers tell their stories well aware that the issues that Americans face are different to those faced by Zimbabweans.
“If you look at American rappers of today they all look at the same issues. The same subject matter is visited again and again and most of the time they will talk about growing up in the ghetto, selling drugs, getting arrested and going to jail.
“In Zimbabwe you find rappers like MC Chita and Kasi Lunatics who are very creative with their lyrics and relate their stories from a Zimbabwean point of view,” he said.
Up-and-coming rapper, Thando “Kush Kush” Khanye, believes the negativity that surrounds American hip-hop should not be attached to Zimbabwean hip-hop as artistes are trying to forge an image that befits conditions that they lived under.
“As Zimbabwean artistes we do not operate in a vacuum and the conditions we live under come out in the music we make,” he said.
Online Reporter