|
Abstract:
|
Hip Hop music and culture, once considered an American phenomenon exists throughout the world today. In each cultural area, hip hop artists filter American and other foreign hip hop styles through their own local musical, social, and linguistic practices, creating unique musical forms. Tanzania and Malawi, two African countries, are no exception to this creative process. Both countries have vibrant hip hop communities that draw heavily on their knowledge of international, as well as local and national, hip hop music and culture. In mediating between various hip hop communities, rap artists and enthusiasts in both countries have established distinctive rap cultures, particularly in regards to language use in their music and everyday conversations. In this paper, we examine language choices made by Tanzania and Malawian hip hop enthusiasts and artists. Tanzanian youths draw from both English and Swahili, using whichever language is appropriate to a particular situation, while. Malawian youths follow a similar pattern utilizing either Chichewa or English. Language use patterns in the two countries diverge, however, with regard to country-specific social and economic dimensions of rap musical practicing defined as including performance, clothing styles, dance, and discourse about rap music. Since Malawi and Tanzania border one another, the distinct yet overlapping uses of language among local hip hop artists emphasize cultural and historical differences that have influenced the development of the two national scenes. What are these differences and how do they play out in each country's respective hip hop musics? What is distinctive about each country's language use and how does this affect local hip hop music? |