New York is an amazing city, especially from a hip-hop perspective. It’s one of the few places on earth where you can see that hip-hop is part of the culture, not just something that you watch on TV. But for me – doing music that is mostly in French and not in some Congolese language that sounds exotic for Western people – it’s a difficult market. I take everything that happens here like a plus one. I’m not supposed to be here.
It may be tempting to read Congolese-Belgian rapper Baloji’s music as a relatively straightforward exercise in “indigenizing” or localizing hip-hop, but the story of his transnational musical moorings — especially his ambivalence toward Congolese pop — complicates such an interpretation.
Kinshasa’s unique brand of professional wrestling culture has suddenly attracted a number of artists and photographers to the city. They include Colin Delfosse (above), Benedicte Kurzen, Gwenn Dubourthoumieu, Vincent Boisot, Pieter Hugo and Keith Harmon Snow. Like you, we also want to figure out why. It must be the costumes and the lively crowds or […]
Baloji is back in North America, and while we’re a little late on the draw, you can still catch him in a few cities this summer. Two dates in Quebec (tonight and tomorrow night) and the final show in Los Angeles on July 16th. Here.
@Boima (at Ghetto Bassquake) posted a music video (via Sonja Uwimana) by the Congolese artist Baloji, “… the greatest music video maker in the world right now.” Baloji is doing an update of Grand Kalle et l’African Jazz’s independence rumba from 1960. Remember Baloji’s last effort? He is killing it now. UPDATE: My man, Tom […]
Shot in the streets of Kinshasa, site of Muhammad Ali’s legendary ‘Rumble in the Jungle’, Karibu Ya Bintou (“Welcome to Life in Limbo”) is a short film with music from the 2010 album ‘Kinshasa Succursale’ by Baloji. Electric finger piano (likembé): played by Konono N°1, the legendary Congolese band who collaborated with Björk & count […]
