A New Generation of Ideas
CONCLUSION
“The key to the future of Senegalese rap is organization—period,” claims rapper Xuman in a documentary interview (Pindra and Keyti 2008). Members of the directional team of Africulturban, as well as several Senegalese rappers, lament that hip-hop music does not pay in Senegal and that there is still no sign of a veritable hip-hop business, but none flatly reject that there cannot be one (Fall Ba 2012; Pindra and Keyti 2008). Despite an industry that began to take shape in 2007 with a diversification of languages, styles, and varying levels of commercialism (Herson 2012), I do not intend to argue that developing the hip-hop industry in Senegal is going to lead to poverty reduction by advancing economic growth in any way. Rather, this paper has attempted to trace the deep roots of social activism in Senegalese hip-hop and to show the various ways in which the movement has begun to organize. The various shapes and structures being produced within the movement serve to increase its capacity to galvanize people and engage urban youth who do not normally have access to formal training in acquiring professional skills using the aesthetics and lifestyle of hip-hop. To be able to see the potential of hip-hop in reducing urban poverty, one needs to see the movement as one not only associated with a history of revolution and rebellion but also exhibiting a trend toward transformation (Fall Ba 2012; Chang 2007). Hip-hop has proven that it can nourish a society, and what is happening in Senegal’s hip-hop scene today is essentially an experiment in ways of taking advantage of this nourishment to strengthen and educate urban youth. Cultural associations that promote hip-hop such as Africulturban are able to reach the most at-risk youth and give them a relatable culture through which they can get involved in matters that concern their generation. Senegal’s experience and localization of this global movement serve as an exemplar for creating new and innovative ways to use an artistic subculture to advance social change and reduce urban poverty. If one “takes a good look” at where hip-hop in Senegal is coming from and where it is going, one can see much more than political engagement; one sees a youth movement bringing about social change. The election of Macky Sall in March has proven, to some extent, that hip-hop artists are capable of translating the subversive language of their culture into a politically intelligible urban movement that has been able to impose itself on a national scale. If it | 53 |