Hip hop in Central African Republic

Difficult beginnings

Bassé Freddy aka Galère Suprême, originally from Castor, a district of Bangui is one of the pioneers of hip hop in the country. He discovered hip hop through graffiti and rap music in 1982. In the 90s a defining moment in his career was when he attended a concert of the legendary French rapper MC Solaar at the Centre Culturel Francais now called Institut Francais (CCF) in Bangui.

The notable pioneers of the movement are: Paps, Mc Pakito, Boris Dede Sombo (Ol’wa), Doctor Soglo. The first rap festival (Festi rap) was organized in 1997 by Guy Thierry Alima, owner of Studio Jowice and the first to locally produced original cassettes. The same year, the group Sewa Soul released the first rap album to be commercialised. The group’s song "Baisser vos armes” (lower your guns), played on heavy rotation on local radios and ranked on the Kilimanjaro chart on Africa No. 1 radio. The group was also the first to export their music by participating at the MASA festival in Côte d'Ivoire in 1999.

A more palpable rap scene emerged in the 2000s with the launch of the compilation album called ‘Bango's Rap 1’. The compilation album from Bangui featured the main rappers of the capital city such as Sector O +, Le Staff, Sons of Sun, Kotangbanga, Black Bino, Bravo, Mac Siot and the groups FM16, Cwa Soul, El Shamma, Duké Klan or Klan 235.

Some of the rappers featured on the compilation went on to perform at major hip-hop festivals in the sub-region such as the Gabao Hip Hop Festival (Gabon). In 2007, l'Alliance française de Bangui launched the Sümä hip hop festival.

This first ever local rap festival gained momentum for its second edition in April 2008 under the patronage of Didier Awadi, the Senegalese rap legend, Freddy Massamba and Saintrick, an artist from Congo Brazzaville based in Senegal. This festival attracted more than 12 000 people (1). Among the local rappers who played at the Suma Hip-Hop festival were Achap and Obob Montana from Sector O+ who performed alongside Didier Awadi.

Balthazar Guevara of Sons of Sun, criticised the regime of François Bozizé, in front of his fellow rapper’s video Gaël Faye (2) , he said: "These politicians are thieves of public funds. We spit the truth”. His fellow member PapIII added: "There is no democracy in Bangui, there are no human rights in Bangui there is no freedom of expression. In Bangui the press does not have the mouth to speak. Bangui my city of birth, Bangui city of my suffering. Bangui city of strikes, thieves, robbers and looters. "

Docteur Nitro of the group Le Staff comes from the popular Bangui district of Suma Kodro (3) which he describes as “a difficult neighbourhood infested with cops," he futher added "At the beginning we were doing this for fun and then one moment we decided to commit to it” he said.

According to him, the Ministry of Culture representative and the French Ambassador in Central African Republic had to leave the event because “we were spitting truths".

That same year the group Top Oubanguien (in reference to the Oubangui-Chari, the named used for the Central African Republic during French colonisation) was selected to perform at the Gabao hip hop festival. In March 2009, Gaël Faye recorded a track with the great MC Black Bino (who raps in Sango), Bravo and Mac Siot as well as Mary, one of the rarest Central African female rappers apart from Mamy Wata who lives in France and Laeticia Zonzambé (ex member from the group Duké Clan who is now pursuing a singing career).

This song was recorded at the AKK Studio Productions by Alain Kaniki a sound engineer from Kinshasa (D.R.C) who settled in Bangui in 2001.In 2005-2006, after Alain realized the potential of young talents during school parties and youth fairs, he invested in a small studio that recorded several local rappers.

Born in Bangui in 1983 to a Belgian and American mother and a Central African father, raised in Belgium, Armani Kombot-Naguemon aka Boddhi Satva is a renowned international beatmaker. He rubbed shoulders with all the local rappers of the country before turning to house music. Although he is undoubtedly the most famous Central African abroad, he didn’t forget his native land where he opened a recording studio.

French rappers from Central African Republic

Daniel Lakoué, alias Dany Dan, a French rapper from the group Les Sages Poètes de la Rue is originally from Central Africa. The rapper who grew up with his two friends Zoxea and Melopheelo in Boulogne-Billancourt (Paris, France) reflects for the first time on his father who went to France from Central African Republic in the group’s last album, ‘Art Contemporain’. This song called ‘Papa India’ features Cameroonian singer Valérie Belinga for background vocals: "It is a tribute to Mr Lakoué, not a dedication” said Dany Dan.

Daddy Lord C (Clarck Ebara) another rapper from the famous French rap group La Cliqua, is also originally from the Central African Republic. He too has not forgotten his roots. In 2013, he participated in a concert organised for his country, in Mantes-la-Jolie (France).

His brother Jo Dalton (Jérémie Maradas-Nado) is the leader of the Black Dragons, a gang in the Parisian suburban region who were famous for hunting Skinheads. This son of a former senator left the Central African Republic at the age of ten. His family safety was threatened by the Bokassa regime. Jo Dalton and his family settled in Grigny in France in 1981.

Another French rapper with Central African Republic roots is Lyon's who happens to be Daddy Lord C’s uncle and grew up in Sevran (France) in the 93. He created in 1990 Les 3 coups with Mr. R and released a mythical track called "Check la devise” (meaning check this motto) in 1995.He recalls of a trip in his native country from where he was expelled in 1996, during the mutinies of the army against the president Ange-Felix Patassé: "I arrived in the Central African Republic in a middle of a coup d’état. Still I was trying to establish myself despite the chaos (...). It was another world for me, I knew nothing of this country which I had left at around five or six years. I had become ‘too clean’ for people at home, a stranger. They called me “The Frenchie". I started getting my marks slowly, finding out recording studios, getting to know emerging rap groups (...). My advantage was that I was a recording artist in France. In the country, I was the first known Central African rapper. I started to bring in the countries the latest rap releases. I worked with two or three groups that are today the biggest rap groups in the Central African Republic. But I had to flee for Côte d'Ivoire because the situation was explosive! "(4)

The new Generation

In 2011 a local rap song ‘Bê ti guinza’ was released. This songthat is commercial in sound, was produced by AKS production which promotes more positivity in hip hop. The video was shot by Lassa Kossangué, well known in Bangui for his videos of local urban ndombolo artists such as Capitaine Zuele Zuele or Ozaguin

Following the civil unrest of 2013, some rappers like Mohamed Saleh used their voice to advocate national reconciliation during a concert. In 2006, a group from Bangui called MC Fonctionnaire is born around its leader Petrus. One of their opus is called ... "623 000 Km2 de vérité" (meaning ‘623,000 km2 of truth’, in reference to the size of the country.

Merveille Parfait Gonikara aka Veyzo one of the group member launched an interesting solo career with his first mixtape: ‘Les coups de feu sont entrain de se calmer un peu, le jeune centrafricain est entrain de se battre pour sa survie’(“The gunfires have calmed down a bit, the young Central African is fighting for his survival.) He said.

Unlike many Central African artists, he does not plan to leave the country: "I learned a lot by living two years in Cameroon. I'm not going to France and then live like a beggar. I'm a Central African rapper, my fight is here! ".

In a more "bling bling" style Soldier is jumping on the afro-trap wagon with his track "Jouer" with Sparrow and Lawal izii-Ala Sigui. It was a hit last year.

This overview was originally written in French and translated by Patricia Yumba Muzinga

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Sources and references:

(1) Afrisson (www.afrisson.com), May 2007,an article by Sylvie Clerfeuille

(2) During a writing workshop at French Institute of Bangui in March 2009 Gaël Faye made a mini documentary on rap in Bangui

(3) in sango language kodro is a word that designates both the lineage space, the village and the district where one resides according to Marie-France Adrien-Rongier in "Les kodro de Bangui, un espace urbain oublié" (Bangui’s kodros, a forgotten urban space) as featured In Les cahiers africains in 1981

(4) Interview extract from the site www.abcdrduson.com in April 2016

(5) Source: Réseau des journalists pour les droits de l’homme de Centrafrique December 2016