Hip-hop's Language Problem


Rob Boffard writing in The Guardian:


Hip-hop in South Africa faces the same problems all music faces – how do you reach as wide an audience as possible? But it has additional posers unique to this country – can you rap in any of South Africa's 11 languages and still be relevant to all your listeners? And how much can you rely on American hip-hop before losing your own identity? But this is a genre bursting with talent, and South African rap artists are finding ways around the difficulties their situation throws at them … Corporate interest helped South African hip-hop beat one of its biggest problems. Globally, few genres have taken to the internet like hip-hop, and it's now a vital tool for any artist. But in South Africa? Not a chance. Of the country's 49m people, only around 6m have access to the web. And in the predominantly black townships, which represent hip-hop's core market, internet access is almost unheard of. When it comes to publicising and distributing music, there's rarely a workable online option.


Is that so?



 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on March 15, 2011 12:00
No comments have been added yet.


Sean Jacobs's Blog

Sean Jacobs
Sean Jacobs isn't a Goodreads Author (yet), but they do have a blog, so here are some recent posts imported from their feed.
Follow Sean Jacobs's blog with rss.