#south african rap

[kemetic-dreams]

[cheapsweetsrocks]

Day 1: Dope Saint Jude - Alphas

[I'm posting a music video my a different queer artist each day of Pride Month - Queer music for Pride Month masterpost here]

[heritage-harmony-records]

NEW ALBUM STREAMING NOW!!!

IY​(​Mixtape​.​) is the new album from Johannesburg, South Africa based afrofunk/hip-hop/neo-soul/afrobeat artist INKINGA YOMHLABA, released on August 2nd, 2024.

Listen to the full album:

[joemuggs]

Albums of 2023 part 2

And so, on from part 1, we continue. This is more dreamy synth-dub that sits perfectly next to the Harrow album: Richard Norris is another artist with an extraordinarily long and illustrious career but who also has never lost the exploratory urge and total delight in sonic finesse.

Honestly Uruguayan-in-Ireland Lila Tirando a Violeta is right up there with the very best of the "deconstructed club" generation - dark, gothic, complex, VERY WEIRD - and this collab with Berliner Sin Maldita is up there with her best. It's really, REALLY intense!

Just impossibly beautiful elegies from ambient harpist Mary Lattimore which builds towards the final track collaboration with Slowdive's Rachel Goswell that is so lovely it will single handedly bring back swooning as a popular pastime.

Officially an EP but there's enough here to cement Nia Archives's place as a heavyweight - add "Off Wiv Ya Headz" and that Jorja Smith remix, and she's had a humdinger of a 2023....

Saw some discourse suggesting that Burna Boy is resting on his laurels here, but I don't hear it. Maybe it's the fact that the cover looks dashed-off? But musically, this bangs: it expertly joins so many dots but keeps his voice and personality right at the heart of it.

I mean come on there was no way a collab between Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist was going to be anything but good, right? Just purest essence of deep and dreamy stoner hip hop. Yet another small (27min) but beautifully formed album - definitely a trend there.

Feels kind of (literally) sacrilegious to say I prefer Cleo Sol's more personal, less scriptural records (e.g. Rose in the Dark) - and this is, top to bottom, a gospel album - but the conviction to her performance and the whole realisation of it here is still really magical.

From Coventry via Skopje, man like NOT_MDK's first album in 23 years, and he's zooming into the deep flows that join grime and dubstep into the longer, deeper electronic funk continuum... These tracks are so crisp and crunchy!

She's from Turkey but Ahu's been plugged into the London Plastic People / NTS / etc scene for years - file this with Yazmin Lacey and similar LDN soul-jazz, also it's very Boho and vibesy and incensey, definitely one to light your best candles for.

Can't remember who put me on to this, possibly Radio 3? Anyway if cold wet misty Scottish hillsides are your jam Claire M Singer has you covered - these slower-than-slowly unfolding organ-led pieces practically smell of wet moss, and are extremely beautiful.

He's lent vocals to a who's who of electronic music, but it turns out Paul St Hilaire's own studio craft is the equal of just about any of them - this is just a stunning, ocean-deep album of dub abstraction and subtly potent lyricism.

Icelander Eva Jóhannsdóttir aka EVA808 has already made a name in the dubstep/grime world but this is her really spreading her creative wings. Mad psychedelia, elemental abstraction, movie-theme composition - there's not much she can't do. Big things beckon!

There's still SO much to say about amapiano, and so much incredible UK, SA and wider world stuff last year (this isn't even the only great DJ Maphorisa album - he had THREE out in 2023, including a mini album with Shino Kikai and a 25-track one with fellow originator Kabza De Small!!). Suffice to say this has gorgeous songs, primal grooves, endlessly sophisticated mixdowns and bass that'll take your breath away.

Just gonna link to my review for this one (it's got the music embedded) - but TL;DR Darren J Cunningham aka Actress is the holy prophet of the era of enshittification, yet for all that his music is constantly "off" and made for a world that is "off", he alchemises it into real gold.

Yeah I'm going to be THAT space-jazz hipster and say this is the record I wish Andre3000 (who is on it, and Carlos Niño co-produced his album) had made. It's just a more lavish, free, FUN way to cavort with the five-dimensional fractal machine elves.

Zoning in on the platonic breakbeat mathematics that underly Jersey / B'more club Chicago hip house, UK rave, trip hop etc, Bored Lord could seem arch or retro if her beats weren't so gloriously functional and bumping.

Fed up of generic records? You will never EVER find another one that sounds like IFS MA. Polish abstract slightly Autechre-y footwork / drum'n'bass with Japanese rapper MA sounding like a cyborg beat poet Taliban Trim and I.... 🤯

Every man jack and their dog are doing high bpm retro rave lately but you can trust Meemo Comma to put a fresh and uneasy twist on it. These tracks will get you proper buzzing up loud! I got to DJ for her live performance of this at Spiritland earlier in the year, hearing them on that system was a real treat.

You get a twofer with this one. Phil Kieran's ode to Belfast is gorgeous in studio form here, but he also recorded and released a version with the Ulster Orchestra that single handedly revivifies the idea of electronic music done classical style!

Two true underground troupers teaming up here - Jordan GCZ from Juju & Jordash and David "Move D" Moufang with some otherworldly good-dream ambient, deep house and space-soul jams heavy on the Fender Rhodes, fuzzy reverberation and sensually sweeping portamento.

My musical safe place for so much of this year. Brooklyn "electronic jam band" Purelink somehow burrowed into electronic music history and found the softest, happiest, warmest fur lined chamber and then invited us in. I cannot emphasise enough how LOVELY this record is.

More modular synth grooves from E Ruscha aka Secret Circuits, but no over-indulgence here and the grooves REALLY DO GROOVE. Trippy as a weasel circus and twice as funky.

Talking of trippy, here's Optimo Music's second acid-drenched entry, from the man formerly known as TB Arthur and the mighty Magda trading as Blotter Trax, it's a kind of parallel universe early 80s alt disco where everything gurgles and melts.

More from South Africa - King Mzaiza Sound via the reliably tough Parisian PSSNGR label - not 100% sure what you'd call this though it definitely has some gqom sonics, some trap drums, and some strident rap vocals... It's HARD AS NAILS is what it is.

EVEN HARDER - Nyege Nyege brought us a sampler of this (and I don't use mental health language lightly) FUCKING MENTAL shrieking, raging, solvent-huffing sound from São Paulo stewarded by the young DJ K, and it's extremely funky and scarily thrilling.

OK there we go, part three is here.....

[999-trilla]

Black Paradise Out Now🔥https://on.soundcloud.com/5jPpH

Ey its that time y'all 🖤🔥 *Black Paradise Feat. 3soterick is out*Link In Bio Facebook users right here : https://on.soundcloud.com/5jPpH *Banger Alert🖤🤞🏽 stream and let's spread the word💯😤*

[guywithbeer]

Enjoy some South African hip hop from this sadly (recently) deceased artist. 

[darryferreira412]

(Cat-Astro_RSA)

[unfuckwiithable]

New Music..

[kaccvcate]

Here in Mississippi the word "coon" isn't commonly used as a slur, but most often as a shortened form of raccoon, and I didn't realize most places the opposite is true until I went to new york - I'd travelled before but it doesn't come up much, imagine my surprise at my friend's flabbergasted reaction when I came inside his house and casually mentioned I stopped a 'coon from going through his trash. Yesterday I was visiting the Haunted Mansion, and I saw a dude selling meat out of his cooler on the side of the highway with a sign that said "FRESH SNAPPER, TROUT, COON." There isn't a taboo against the N word to most white people here, so there isn't a need to use any less offensive words...

My family are polite/of mixed racial origin, so the first time I even heard there was an N word I was 9. I probably heard it full out the first time from a rap song, I don't remember, but for most of my friends they grew up hearing their white relatives say it so often, they didn't even realize it was a slur until they were older. My ex said when he was a kid he didn't even know the words "black" or "african" in reference to people, he just thought the N word was what they are called because of his family. I can't even imagine the horror lol.

some people online consider "tar baby" a slur, but to me it's a specific reference to muskoke folklore. In one story Cvfe (Br'er Rabbit) gets mad at a doll made of tar and attacks it, which causes him to get stuck and caught by the fox. A tar baby is someone who it would be more trouble to punch than to walk away, because you would get stuck with their problems. It isn't exactly a compliment but it's not racially based. I can imagine being black and getting called that, and assuming it is because tar is black, so it sort of makes sense. No one knows shit about Muskoke folklore anyway. Some might even say that by starting a conversation about how slurs are used in Mississippi I am punching a tar baby.

People are so judgemental about you if you have light skin and are from the south, it's difficult to even talk about what life is like here without people randomly accusing you of being descended from slave owners or being racist. Well only a few rich people owned slaves, and I'm descended from escaped Scottish slaves who were sold off before African slaves even got here, plus many of my relatives on the Muskoke and Choctaw sides were also enslaved, and my only other "white" relatives are jews who left germany before they could get enslaved and put in camps by germans, so everyone with a persecution complex can kiss my ass. I only hate one race, the human race.

[prettyboysdontlookatexplosions]

my friend dave has an ongoing newsletter project where he surveys songs from what is to me an unfathomably broad set of genres & regional scenes and compiles a weekly CD-length mix of the stuff that sticks. one of my loose 2024 resolutions - and the only one of the "fun" ones i kept - was to listen to more new-to-me music, and keeping up (mostly) with the mixes here wound up being the main way i did that, so i thought i'd link it here in this pre-new year's window for anyone looking for a low-stakes fun resolution, or anyone who wants to diversify their listening in 2025.

it's genuinely hard for me to imagine the casual music listener for whom this project would not offer at least some broadening of perspective; any given mix is as likely to include chart-toppers from the US or korea or brazil or quite literally wherever else as it is to include experimental jazz or indie rock from the perpetual 2004 of the montreal scene; a single mix opened with "espresso" as it was rising and went on to include a four-track run of icelandic electro, polish hyperpop, francophone synth-pop, and disco-infused farsi pop, all with youtube counts in the triple digits or lower (along with "fuh spite," a raunchy trinidadian dancehall banger that was one of my favorites of the year).

you can get a taste for the breadth on display by starting with the best of 2024 post, which features, among other things, brazilian funk, alt-country, alt-pop reggaeton, mellow russian rock by an erstwhile rapper, amapiano (a south african dance genre i am passingly familiar with basically entirely thanks to this newsletter), spunky irish tween rap, pop in thai, iralian, & other languages, kesha, and, of course, slut me out 3, which, like the rap banger that made it into my spotify top 10 from a band whose name i don't know because i can't read japanese, i first encountered through dave's mixes. give it a try! it's fun!

[evilthotiana]

I hate Abstract Hip Hop African Music Afrobeats Alt-Country Alté Alternative Dance Alternative R&B Alternative Rock Alt-Pop Ambient Ambient Dub Ambient Pop Ambient Techno Americana Art Pop Art Punk Art Rock Avant-Garde Jazz Ballroom Baltimore Club Bedroom Pop Blues Boom Bap Brazilian Music Breakbeat Breakbeat Hardcore Bubblegum Bass Caribbean Music Central African Music Chamber Folk Chamber Pop Chicago Drill Chillout Chillwave Classical Music Cloud Rap Conscious Hip Hop Contemporary Folk Contemporary R&B Country Country Soul Dance Dancehall Dance-Pop Deconstructed Club Deep House Detroit Techno Disco Downtempo Dream Pop Drill Drill and Bass Drone Drum and Bass Drumless Dubstep Dub Techno East Coast Club East Coast Hip Hop Electro Electroacoustic Electronic Electronic Dance Music Electropop Emo Emo Rap Experimental Experimental Hip Hop Experimental Rock Film Soundtrack Folk Folk Rock Footwork French Hip Hop Funk Funk brasileiro Funk Rock Future Garage Gangsta Rap Garage Punk Garage Rock Ghetto House Ghettotech Glitch Glitch Hop Glitch Pop Grime Hard Bop Hardcore [EDM] Hardcore Hip Hop Hardcore [Punk] Hardcore Punk Hip Hop Hip Hop Soul Hip House Hispanic American Music Hispanic Music Horrorcore House Hyperpop Hypnagogic Pop IDM Indie Folk Indie Pop Indie Rock Indietronica Industrial Industrial & Noise Industrial Hip Hop Industrial Techno Instrumental Hip Hop Jamaican Music Jangle Pop Jazz Jazz-Funk Jazz Fusion Jazz Rap Juke Jungle Krautrock Math Pop Math Rock Memphis Rap Microhouse Midwest Emo Minimal Synth Minimal Techno Minimal Wave Modern Classical MPB Neo-Psychedelia Neo-Soul New Wave Noise Pop Noise Rock Northern American Music Nu Jazz Outsider House Plugg PluggnB Plunderphonics Political Hip Hop Pop Pop Rap Pop Rock Pop Soul Post-Bop Post-Hardcore Post-Industrial Post-Punk Post-Punk Revival Post-Rock Power Pop Progressive Breaks Progressive Electronic Progressive Pop Psychedelia Psychedelic Folk Psychedelic Pop Psychedelic Rock Psychedelic Soul Punk Punk Rock R&B Reggae Regional Music Rock Shoegaze Singer-Songwriter Slacker Rock Slowcore Smooth Soul Sophisti-Pop Soul Soul Jazz Sound Collage Soundtrack South American Music Southern African Music Southern Hip Hop Southern Soul Spiritual Jazz Spoken Word Synth Funk Synthpop Tech House Techno Traditional Folk Music Trap Trap Soul Trip Hop UK Bass UK Funky UK Garage UK Hip Hop West African Music West Coast Hip Hop Western Classical Music Wonky

[oi-lucy]

Some queer rap/hip hop artists for y'all to add to your pride playlists cause we know how much y'all hate rap. (Music is picked by the queerest I could find or just my favorite of theirs. also added a lot of LGBT south African artists that probably don't count as rap but I never get the opportunity to share them, so fuck off)

MX Blouse (I will always share them, one of my all time favorite artists) - We Can Fall In Love

Tyler the Creator - I Ain't Got Time

Princess Nokia - No Effort

Lil Nas X - J Christ

Kevin Abstract - JUNKY(BROCKHAMPTON)

Megan Thee Stallion - Tuned in

Isaiah Rashad - Wat U Sed (he was sadly forcibly outed so there's no explicitly queer songs, but this one features Doechii who is explicitly queer)

Doechii - Alter Ego (you just need to add this to any pride playlist)

Kevin Fret (RIP, you will be missed) - Soy Asi

Tori Fixx(one of the first ever openly gay hip hop artists) - Woof

God Des and She - Lick it (this is a really good tutorial as well)

FAKA (every queer person should know FAKA) - Uyang'khumbula

Dope St Jude - Grrrl Like

Moonchild Sanelly - Weh Mameh

There are so many more but this is my second time making this and I've got shit to do, reblog with any queer rappers y'all know or just queer POC you'd like to share.

[ausetkmt]

Encyclopedia of American Race Riots [2 volumes]: Greenwood Milestones in African American History [2 volumes] Illustrated Edition

Click the title to download free, and please share it

2008 Ida B. Wells and Cheikh Anta Diop Award for Outstanding Scholarship in Africana Studies

2007 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

Race riots are the most glaring and contemporary displays of the racial strife running through America's history. Mostly urban, mostly outside the South, and mostly white-instigated, the number and violence of race riots increased as blacks migrated out of the rural South and into the North and West's industrialized cities during the early part of the twentieth-century.

Though white / black violence has been the most common form of racial violence, riots involving Asians and Hispanics are also included and examined. Race riots are the most glaring and contemporary displays of the racial strife running through America's history. Mostly urban, mostly outside the South, and mostly white-instigated, the number and violence of race riots increased as blacks migrated out of the rural South and into the North and West's industrialized cities during the early part of the twentieth-century.

While most riots have occurred within the past century, the encyclopedia reaches back to colonial history, giving the encyclopedia an unprecedented historical depth.

Though white on black violence has been the most common form of racial violence, riots involving other racial and ethnic groups, such as Asians and Hispanics, are also included and examined.

Organized A-Z, topics include: notorious riots like the Tulsa Riots of 1921, the Los Angeles Riots of 1965 and 1992; the African-American community's preparedness and responses to this odious form of mass violence; federal responses to rioting; an examination of the underlying causes of rioting; the reactions of prominent figures such as H. Rap Brown and Martin Luther King, Jr to rioting; and much more. Many of the entries describe and analyze particular riots and violent racial incidents, including the following:

Belleville, Illinois, Riot of 1903 Harlem, New York, Riot of 1943 Howard Beach Incident, 1986 Jackson State University Incident, 1970 Los Angeles, California, Riot of 1992 Memphis, Tennessee, Riot of 1866 Red Summer Race Riots of 1919 Southwest Missouri Riots 1894-1906 Texas Southern University Riot of 1967

Entries covering the victims and opponents of race violence, include the following:

Black Soldiers, Lynching of Black Women, Lynching of Diallo, Amadou Hawkins, Yusef King, Rodney Randolph, A. Philip Roosevelt, Eleanor Till, Emmett, Lynching of Turner, Mary, Lynching of Wells-Barnett, Ida B.

Many entries also cover legislation that has addressed racial violence and inequality, as well as groups and organizations that have either fought or promoted racial violence, including the following:

Anti-Lynching League Civil Rights Act of 1957 Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 Ku Klux Klan National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Nation of Islam Vigilante Organizations White League Other entries focus on relevant concepts, trends, themes, and publications.

Besides almost 300 cross-referenced entries, most of which conclude with lists of additional readings, the encyclopedia also offers a timeline of racial violence in the United States, an extensive bibliography of print and electronic resources, a selection of important primary documents, numerous illustrations, and a detailed subject index.

click the title to download - free, and please share it

[kemetic-dreams]

While the consensus is that hip hop originated in the Bronx, many scholars and enthusiasts argue that the genre's artistic roots can be traced back to Africa. Dating back to the 13th century, griots were prominent figures in West African kingdoms and empires. These highly skilled orators, poets, musicians, praise singers and satirists traveled extensively, recounting the history of their empires through rhythmic and repetitive delivery.

This well-established oral tradition is often cited as a precursor to rap, suggesting it may have laid the foundational groundwork for the emergence of hip hop. 

Call-and-response, popularized by artists like James Brown,and featured in 1980s songs like Kurtis Blow's "The Breaks". Call-and-response has deep historical roots in African traditions, evident in the Igbo musical style of ogene music, the foundational elements of fuji music and oríkì panegyrics performed by Yoruba priests.

African-American poetry groups, collectively called The Last Poets offered the earliest glimpse of Africa’s influence on Western hip hop culture, during the Civil Rights movement. The group's vocal style incorporated elements of call-and-response and rhythmic chanting rooted in African cultural traditions. Moreover, the name "The Last Poets" was inspired by a poem titled "Towards a Walk in the Sun" by South African poet Keorapetse Kgositsile.