Find out how hip hop music is a form of self and social expression for up-and-coming hip hoppers in Africa
Sometime around the beginning of the previous decade, a slow-yet-steady emergence of hip-hop music powered by YouTube and social media, began. Today, hip hop has become a part of entertainment and found its place in mainstream music.
Especially when it comes to African hip hop culture, we see artists coming from diverse backgrounds to tell different stories. They all have distinct styles and want their music to come at you with a rush of all the things that have gone into who they are.
One such world star hip hop artist WilliefromtheDrive believes that hip hop is his way of self and social expression. As a 24-year old emerging artist, investor, video director and business owner, Willie is the voice behind your favourite music album ‘Cuz of U’. His next project, “Till my casket drops” releases soon! Discussing his journey, Willie shares how he and other upcoming artists consider hip hop more than just a hobby.
Inner Voice & Social Change
Your experiences are all about your social upbringing. Being someone who was born and brought up in Africa, Willie takes inspiration from the streets that raised him. Willie recollects how hip hop originally was the music of the oppressed. People in the African community used it to express their pain and protest. Hip hop became the means to talk about socially and politically relevant issues and reach out to the masses.
Apart from the socio-political lyrics, another common element of hip hoppers is their use of regional language. Willie believes that music transcends the boundaries of language, but a touch of regional dialect and lyrics is how people resonate with the music.
An Attempt To Make The Voices Heard
Once you find your calling to bring a social change and are ready to use it as a means to express yourself, you need to hit the mainstream for the world to take notice. Having an established fan base or audience for your independent work to get recognized is the key. Willie has gone through a journey and has a dream. He aspires to begin an ‘only fans’ course on how he made everything come up and changed it for the better. Soon, Willie is also planning to create a unique platform where he can take his people to the next level, off his name.
As the King of Aalduobap, Willie is also trying to create his own city filled with peace. This is his own city where “Nobody has to work ever again. We are all equal. To bear the burden of all those I carry with me. For them to smile until they canʼt breathe no more.”
In the process of disrupting the hip hop industry, WilliefromtheDrive is soon releasing ‘Till my casket drops!’ Willie’s advice to the young artists is whether it is independently or via collaborations, if hip hop is your passion, the process is what you must love and that’s why longevity succeeds. Stay tuned and follow Willie for the latest updates!