Hip-hop in Tanzania: Documentary Screening and Discussion

14 January 2025, 4.30 PM - 14 January 2025, 6.00 PM

G.16, Victoria Rooms

Hip Hop Dar es Salaam: Muziki Ya Kizazi Kypia (45 mins)

Hip-hop in Tanzania: Documentary Screening and Discussion

Justin Williams, David Kerr, Hashim Rubanza, O-Key

Presented in Collaboration with the Centre for Black Humanities

As rapper and record producer Doug E. Fresh said:

“Hip-hop is supposed to uplift and create, to educate people on a larger level and to make a change.”

This seminar features one element of Prof. Williams’s grant project on “The Fifth Element: Knowledge in Hip-hop" (AHRC-DFG funded) which includes a number of global case studies (including Japan, Germany, and the UK). Following a brief project report, we will introduce the documentary film Hip hop in Dar es Salaam: Muziki Ya Kizazi Kypia (dir. O-Key, 2025) which has been one element of the wider hip hop and knowledge project.

Hip Hop Dar es Salaam captures the early history of hip-hop in Tanzania which has yet to be fully or widely told. In making the documentary we adopted new equitable methods of collaboration with hip hop practitioners in which their knowledge of both Tanzanian hip hop history and creative practice are central. For the hip hop practitioner with whom we were working hip hop was not only something they knew about but the practice of making hip hop had enabled them to gain knowledge and skills which they could bring to documentary film making. This film draws on hip-hop approaches to cultural industry, and work through theories of knowledge flows and musical (and musicians) migrations. After opening comments from our collaborators, we will screen the documentary and follow this with a discussion.

Bios

Octavian Thomas aka O-Key (Director & Editor) started his career as a rapper, releasing a number of songs and working with influential producers Messen Selekta and Sallii Teknik. Following his initial success in the rap game, O-Key began producing music videos and has worked with many of the major artists in Tanzania and Kenya. O-Key’s distinctive style as a music video director has brought him accolated from the music industry across East Africa. He is currently working as a filmmaker and director.

Hashim Rubanza (Producer & Researcher) is an activist, poet, entrepreneur, writer, and retired rapper. His career started in the studios of Dar es Salaam some 30 years ago when he began recording songs to address the social challenges following the country’s neo-liberal economic changes. He has been working with artists in Dar es Salaam over the last 20 years to develop their visions and has worked with all the major studios in the city.

David Kerr (Executive Producer & Research Lead)

Dr David Kerr is currently the Head of Programmes at the Africa-Oxford initiative and a Senior Research Associate at the University of Johannesburg. With over fifteen years of experience in fieldwork in Dar es Salaam, he has published on Tanzanian hip-hop in the fields of cultural and social anthropology, cultural studies, and media studies.

Prof. Justin Williams is Professor of Music at the University of Bristol and is PI of the “Hip-Hop's Fifth Element: Knowledge, Pedagogy, and Artist-Scholar Collaboration” (Ref AH/V002988/1) funded by the AHRC-DFG (Project dates January 2021-July 2025).