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.

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.