Nioko Bokk

The day after visiting with Fou Malade, I went with my friend Zal out to Kër Ndiaye Lo and then Bamebelor.  We went to visit Balla and his friend Cheikhuna to discuss some preliminary ideas concerning a burgeoning project (which will remain vague for now... )  I don't want to jinx anything and things are only in the brainstorming / conversation stage, so I don't want to explain too much about it.  But, the vague version is - we are discussing ways to make the lives of musicians and future musicians here in Senegal a little easier.  Cheikhuna is Balla's long-time colleague (both have worked for ENDA on cultural outreach projects, along with my other friend Serge - see http://www.enda.sn/) and a fellow baye fall (he may not sport Balla's dreads but in the end being a baye fall has less to do with that and everything to do with serving others).  So after a short visit chez Balla we bush-bused over to Bambelor and Cheikhuna showed us around his youth cultural center, called Nioko Bokk ("you're welcome").  In some ways it's similar to Fou Malade's youth center - offering cultural programs to village kids, etc. 

Like Fou Malade and G-Hip Hop, Cheikhuna built Nioko Bokk from scratch with his own hands.  It's a beautiful haven with a tranquil courtyard with artwork all along the walls, painted by local kids (not so much the urban grafitti style of G-Hip Hop, but something more in tune with the village vibe of Bambelor). The courtyard is filled with mango and grapefruit trees (it's mango season and we all sampled some while we were brainstorming together). Unfortunately, I won't be here for the grapefruits, which won't be ready until September or October.  Too bad...  I LOVE grapefruits, and fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, and I lamented that a grapefruit tree would alas never make it back home in Wisconsin.  Oh well.   

After a long discussion of project ideas over a huge platter of mafe (rice served with a peanut sauce-based stew - REALLY good but REALLY filling...) and then a dessert of juicy mangos and cafe Touba (a coffee with some interesting spices in it - it's considered a cure-all here but I just like the flavor of it - it's kind of like a coffee version of chai, maybe), we were introduced to some young rappers who have a more melodic approach than many other rappers I've heard here.  They perform with an acoustic guitar and play traditional melodies along with their raps.  They wanted me to play with them and Cheikhuna had insisted that I bring my sax so I sat in with them on a few tunes they were rehearsing.  It was fun - I've never played with a rap group before and it actually worked really well!  They really have a unique sound that combines slightly rough-edged rap with a smoother, sweeter melodic counterpoint. 

So, here are a few photos from Bambelor:

The entrance to Cheikhuna's youth cultural center, Nioko Bokk.

Some of the wall art around the Nioko Bokk center.

Nioko Bokk's motto:  "Les arts au service du social" (The arts for social service)

From left to right:  Balla Ndiaye, Cheikhuna Ba, and Zal Top.

Balla, "The Thinker"

Cheikhuna serving us some refreshing orangeade, in what, upon closer inspection, I noticed were "Arizona Dude Ranch" cups.  Don't ask me where he came across those...

An upcoming concert and fashion show at Nioko Bokk, featuring music by the young rappers we met, Baby Rap.  Kaay Xool is the name of the event, which means "Come Look."

Balla relaxing outside in the courtyard.

Balla in the middle of our brainstorming session, listening intently.

Zal discussing the project.

Zal with some of the center's art work behind him.

A nice set of drums available to the youth who frequent the center.

Me and Balla

A view of Nioko Bokk's courtyard.  Most of the trees are mango trees!

Cheikhuna chiming in at the meeting.

Balla, me, Zal, and Cheikhuna



(one of those multiple-camera things where nobody knows which person to look at...)

Baby Rap

Balla and I again.

The whole gang brainstorming together.

One of the Baby Rappers - name forthcoming...

Another of the Baby Rappers - name forthcoming.

Another Baby Rapper - name forthcoming...

Another Baby Rapper - I believe his name is Karim, but will confirm.  He's half Australian so I got to speak a little English for once!

Cheikhuna

Cheikhuna and Karim

Some wall art.

Me playing with Baby Rap.

Cheikhuna and Balla leaving Nioko Bokk after a successful first meeting!

Fou Malade and GHip-Hop

Last Friday I contacted the Senegalese rapper Fou Malade ("Crazy Sick") and he was incredibly  welcoming.  He said I could come out to see him that very afternoon.  So I cabbed out to Guediawaye, a suburb on the outskirts of Dakar, and met Fou at the community arts center he has created, called G-Hip Hop (short for Guediawaye Hip Hop).  [The suburbs of Dakar, by the way, are the Senegalese equivalent of the American "inner city," in the sense that the suburbs are where you find the "at risk" youth living in poor conditions.  Only the relatively wealthy can afford to actually live in downtown Dakar, so here the "inner city" youth are actually quite priviledged and it's the suburban kids who are "at risk."]

Fou Malade may look unimposing - he's a little guy - but his raps and his activism are forceful and determined.  He explained to me that simply complaining about the flaws in the "System" is not enough - people, especially youth from poor neighborhoods like Guediawaye, need to feel empowered to create positive changes in their own lives.  It is this empowerment that the G-Hip Hop community center provides, where Fou and his crew offers rapping, grafitti, and breakdancing workshops to youth that otherwise might descend into the hopeless snares of glue-sniffing and apathy.  

The entire G-Hip Hop compound was built from scratch, brick by brick, by Fou and his crew.  It's remarkably clean - everyone who participates in the center's activities also has to chip in with the maintenance, and when I was there I saw kids watering the plants and sweeping the walkways.  There are beautiful grafitti murals on all of the walls - some were part of a collaborative project between the local community and artists from Canada and Chile.  There is a theatre where people perform concerts, slam sessions, plays and other cultural events.  Fou is still working on expanding the compound and improving the conditions of some of the buildings.  If anybody out there is looking for a sort of volunteer-cation adventure, G-Hip Hop would welcome volunteers to come and help with construction projects, and if you have any other talents to offer - in music, visual arts, theatre, I am sure Fou would welcome any suggestions for a collaborative project.  Donations to the center are also needed and would be gratefully appreciated (logistically I'm not sure how this would work but I'm sure Fou would be able to figure something out - and he speaks English.  You could contact him via one of the links below for more information). 

Here is Fou Malade's MySpace page:

www.myspace.com/foumalade

And here is the Facebook page for Guediawaye Hip Hop:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Gu%C3%A9diawaye-Hip-Hop/183703801648201

And here are some photos...

A microscopic picture of me and Fou Malade - Sarren, who took the picture, wanted to make sure you could see the whole G-Hip Hop logo.

Some of the compound's grafitti.

Malick Sarr, aka "Sarren," another rapper at G-Hip Hop.  Super nice guy!

Some of the G-Hip Hop crew.  Fou Malade is in the middle with the green T-shirt.

More grafitti.

"Guediawaye," the name of their neighborhood.

 A collaborative grafitti project with artists from Guediawaye, Canada and Chile.

This translates roughly as "Rap speaks for the people to denounce the evil of the system."

Something like "Get up stand up", and I can't remember the rest - will find out and add it in later.

The grounds are kept really clean, and the plants are well tended.

Fou on the phone.

A youth theatre group rehearsing a play.  Who knows what all of those little kids in the audience would be doing if the G-Hip Hop center didn't exist?

The G-Hip Hop cantina.