I recently had the chance to sit down with Congolese-Belgian MC, Baloji during his visit to New York City. Here’s what transpired.
Interview: Baloji
May 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Parisian Africa: The artistic intersections of the Métropole
April 24, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Guest Post by Lara N. Dotson-Renta
Paris has always been renowned for its culture and support of the arts. Yet, as France has grown into an ever more pluralistic society, the traditional image of what constitutes art in France must evolve as well. Younger generations of artists, many immigrants of African origin, are now reconfiguring the arts in France on their own terms. Their artistic production embodies experiences of travel and adaptation via the integration of the cultures and traditions of their respective countries of origins along with aesthetic and quotidian experiences that reflect daily life in France. Particularly in the realm of music and film, the blending of African tradition with French popular culture and youth genres has fostered a vibrant arts scene that, while initially seen as of/from the margins of both society and the arts scene, is actually renewing ‘mainstream’ culture in dramatic ways. You just have to scan the pop music featured in Hinda Talhaoui’s Paris is a Continent Series on AIAC. One proponent of this new artistic vision is Alain Kasanda (Apkass), a Franco-Congolese musician, spoken word artist, and founder of the O’rigines Foundation and the Ghett’Out Francophone Film Festival. I interviewed Alain at the Trinity College International Hip-Hop Festival held in Hartford, CT, in March earlier this year. [Read more...]
The World of Congolese artist Pume Bylex
April 7, 2012 By 2 Comments
In the introduction to The World According to Bylex Filip De Boeck and Koen Van Synghel describe the Congolese artist Pume Bylex as “not interested in the day-to-day reality of Kinshasa. [He] turns his attention to what lies beyond the horizon of the visible and the tangible (…) a world with perfection and harmony at its centre.” [Read more...]
Tomorrow’s Marching Band
March 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In the DRC, city life isn’t foremost defined by the image of the child soldier (contrary to what some campaigns would have you believe) but rather by that of the street child. Seen by many as a superfluous presence, a residue or a waste, street children become easy victims of gossip and accusations while at the same time, as a relatively new phenomenon, they are also hard to explain (children weren’t always used as scapegoats for families falling apart let alone considered as the cause of personal illnesses), ultimately turning into something of a danger and a threat that, according to all too many citizens, needs to be dealt with and ideally removed from the stuttering and improvisational city logics. [Read more...]
‘Very African and Very Modern’
February 1, 2012 By 2 Comments
Written by Wayne Marshall*
As if there weren’t already enough to tease out about Konono N°1 and Congotronics, a recent article in The Guardian points to a song and video called “Karibu Ya Bintou” by Baloji, a Congo-born rapper who cut his teeth on the Belgian hip-hop scene but who has worked over the last few years to return to “roots” — in part by incorporating “traditional” sounds of the Congo, from soukous guitars to Konono’s hallmark distorted likembé. The latter can be heard supporting the vivid video for “Karibu Ya Bintou”:
Sapeurs and Cemeteries
January 23, 2012 By Leave a Comment
‘Vanité Apparente’, the exhibition of recent work by Congolese artist Yves Sambu — bringing together his interest in contemporary sapeurs and cemeteries — runs until February 24 in Brussels. Sometimes a good antidote to the colorful portrayal of the ‘Society of Tastemakers and Elegant People’ (think of the photographs by Héctor Mediavilla Sabaté, Daniele Tamagni or Baudouin Mouanda) works refreshing.
Music Break. LeslyMan
January 17, 2012 By 1 Comment
“What do they really know about us?” Fair question from Congolese artist LeslyMan. He could have added: do they still want to know about us now that the elections are over? Remember LeslyMan from last year’s collaboration with Lexxus.
How to write about elections in Africa
December 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment
With a few elections coming up next year, journalist Jina Moore already has the template down for covering them: [Read more...]
Hulk Hogan in Kinshasa
November 9, 2011 By 1 Comment
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 the references to “black magic.” Anyway, we went looking for these photographs when the music video for rapper Baloji and fellow Congolese Konono N°1′s collaboration “Karibu Ya Bintou” was posted on Youtube yesterday (watch from the 3.05 mark especially), this time with English subtitles:
Music Break. Alec Lomami
November 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Dapper Congolese-American rapper Alec Lomami (interviewed here by MTV Iggy) shouts outs his old hometown Kinshasa over a disco beat.
Photo Credit: Shako Oteka
