Thursday, December 6, 2007

A free Senegalese hip-hop download

Another Calabash Music alert (for those of you registered there): Calabash is offering a taste of the thriving hip-hop scene in Dakar, Senegal.

It’s a track by the female trio ALIF (Attaque LibĂ©ratoire de l’Infanterie FĂ©ministe). To download the FREE MP3 “Bataxal,” follow this link.

You can hear “Bataxal” streaming on my Vox blog by clicking here.

I dug this melancholy groove before I even knew what the lyrics were about. Turns out “Bataxal” means “The Letter,” and it tells a tale of incest, according to SeneRAP magazine: “A mother sends a letter to her daughter telling her the story of how she was raped by her father: ‘I am your mother, but I’m also your sister...’”

Damn. Drama.

ALIF is known for dealing with social issues in its music. And its 2004 CD “Dakamerap” got some attention internationally.

So take advantage of the freeness. The whole world is at your fingertips!

5 comments:

bklyn6 said...

Thanks shill...er...UBM! :p

Turns out “Bataxal” means “The Letter,” and it tells a tale of incest, according to SeneRAP magazine.

As much as I enjoy listening to world music, this is the stuff I miss out on because I don't know the language. (I often wonder if I'm groovin' to tunes that glamorize thug life, or denigrate women?)

Undercover Black Man said...

^ New handle? How comes?

bklyn6 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bklyn6 said...

Sorry for the edit. (I can't spell.)

Jena 6 was a nod to the six defendants, of course; just thought it was time to represent my hometown, Brooklyn!

I like the number 6. I've used it in homage to, don't laugh...Vanity 6.

Anonymous said...

@ Bklyn6: LOL, I can't listen to their music now without remembering how much trouble I got into when my mother caught me listening to them.