afrika bambaataa

ROOTS IN RAP

Dialo Askia, TRIBES Contributing Writer

ROOTS IN RAP by Dialo Askia 

Hip Hop started out in the park but if you trace the roots of the Hip Hop tree further, you’ll find yourself traveling back through the Caribbean and across the Atlantic to the Motherland, with your ear to the ground, feeling the vibration of the African drum. The early years of Hip Hop held a strong connection to African roots and the music instilled pride in the community while educating listeners.

Greek, Italian, Polish …my senior year in high school, English class included monthly cultural lessons with visiting college professors that would lead us in study and discussion of various cultures. For the sake of authenticity, professors born of the given culture conducted the lessons and so, on the day of the African studies, I enthusiastically walked to the auditorium ready to be instructed by an academic with roots on African continent, a person of color, only to be greeted by a white professor.

Read the full article in TRIBES Summer 2012 SPARK AFRICA issue.

ROOTS IN RAP

Dialo Askia, TRIBES Contributing Writer

ROOTS IN RAP by Dialo Askia 

Hip Hop started out in the park but if you trace the roots of the Hip Hop tree further, you’ll find yourself traveling back through the Caribbean and across the Atlantic to the Motherland, with your ear to the ground, feeling the vibration of the African drum. The early years of Hip Hop held a strong connection to African roots and the music instilled pride in the community while educating listeners.

Greek, Italian, Polish …my senior year in high school, English class included monthly cultural lessons with visiting college professors that would lead us in study and discussion of various cultures. For the sake of authenticity, professors born of the given culture conducted the lessons and so, on the day of the African studies, I enthusiastically walked to the auditorium ready to be instructed by an academic with roots on African continent, a person of color, only to be greeted by a white professor.

Read the full article in TRIBES Summer 2012 SPARK AFRICA issue.

TRIBES Summer 2012 issue: SPARK AFRICA


TRIBES Magazine Summer 2012 – The SPARK AFRICA Issue

Get a copy in print or download a digital version to your computer or mobile device.

In the spirit of ushering in a new summer and preparing to bring this latest TRIBES Magazine Summer 2012: Spark Africa issue to press, the crew at TRIBES Central took a field trip to the Carolina Theatre for a highly anticipated, limited screening of Marley, the new documentary film from Kevin MacDonald chronicling the complete life and works of the international superstar. Immersing his art in the political and socioeconomic realities of life in post-colonial Jamaica and committed to reclaiming a cultural homeland and spiritual roots for all members of the Africa diaspora, Bob Marley was beloved by his fans and peers for his commitment to the work of truth and reconciliation in his music and the love for humanity that permeated his life and work.

In this issue of TRIBES Magazine, join us as we head to Nigeria, Kenya, Sierra Leon, Guinea Bissau, Senegal, and S. Africa by way of Germany and the United States, to meet musician and activist Nneka– raising awareness around big oil business, natural resource exploitation, and state corruption in her hometown of Warri- Hip Hop Activist, promoter, and journalist, Buddha Blaze– co-founder of Spark Africa and various efforts to generate and unify Hip Hop communities across the African continent- Sister Fa– Female MC and subject of the new documentary film, Sarabah, on her mission to combat female genital mutilation (FGM) practices in her Senegalese homeland- and MAMA AFRICA, Miriam Makeba, and her peace and humanitarian work during and after the fall of apartheid in her native South Africa.

These individuals, and the other artists and activists to grace the pages of this Spark Africa edition, teach us that through intensely personal, substantively relevant expressions of art and culture, we become infinitely connected and limitless beings with voices amplified for the work of improving our world. Celebrate inspired community and the arts with our favorite summer concerts and festivals, write your Spark Africa summer playlist after a visit to our Music TRIBES and find inspiration for new forms of expression in Pierce Freelon’s latest project, Tar Heel Tracks, and Renaldo Davidson’s collaborative, mixed-media work, Black Clown.

In this summer of 2012, love, and as a means for revolution, reigns supreme and thus, we welcome you to the TRIBES Magazine 2012: SPARK AFRICA Issue. May your heart’s light illuminate the darkness!  Alana Jones, TRIBES Executive Editor