• Mathare music centre gives voice to Kenyan youth living in slum

    Billian Okoth runs Billian Music Family, a youth centre in the Mathare slum of Nairobi, Kenya. Through music and dance, Billian empowers youth to make change in their community, and in the process giving them a chance to dream of a brighter future. Featuring Billian Okoth, Stephen Onyango (17), Faith Awour (13) and Lewinsky Wanjiku (14).


  • Saving Tanzania’s Underground Hip Hop Scene

    ARUSHA, Tanzania, Jun 18 2014 (IPS) – Inside a dark, cramped, music studio on Arusha’s hillside slum of Kijenge Juu, a thumping hip hop beat rattles the window-less room. A soft-spoken 26-year-old who goes by the name Raf MC steps up to the microphone. He glances down at a piece of paper in his hand. Taking…


  • #RightsMedia report: A #Maasai #woman using #music to #heal and #educate

    Rebeca Kankai is a 37-year-old Maasai woman from a small village in northern Tanzania. She began selling firewood many years ago to support her two young children. In 2008, a fire destroyed her home, killing both kids. Unwilling to give up, Kankai turned to the church and began recording music to tell her story and…


  • #RightsMedia report: Mama C on #poetry #music #art and the #BlackPanther Party

    Charlotte Hill O’Neal, aka Mama C, was a member of the Kansas City chapter of the Black Panther Party before she went into exile with her husband Pete O’Neal in Tanzania. Together, the two have worked in community development and founded the United African Alliance Community Center. Mama C performs her music and poetry at…


  • #RightsMedia doc: Backstage with the Warriors #Kilimanjaro #Tanzania #Music #Awards #KTMA2013

    Part three of a documentary series about the Arusha-based afro-fusion, reggae band, Warriors from the East. Backstage at the 2013 Kilimanjaro Tanzania Music Awards show, Ras Magere and Ghetto Grade from Warriors talk about how the band has built a community of artists from all over East Africa. Seeking to educate and inspire other musicians…


  • #RightsMedia doc: In-studio with the Warriors. #reggae #music #Arusha #Tanzania

    Part two of a documentary series on the Arusha-based afro-fusion, reggae band, Warriors from the East. In this part, Ras Magere speaks candidly in-studio about politics, activism and Tanzanian youth, set to a beat from a yet-to-be-released Warriors jam (featuring a freestyle session from Magere). Warriors from the East aren’t just a band. They’re also…


  • #RightsMedia doc: Warriors from the East. #afrofusion #music #Arusha #Tanzania

    Part one of a documentary series on the Arusha-based afro-fusion, reggae band, Warriors from the East. Warriors were nominated for best reggae song at the 2013 Kilimanjaro Music Awards in Tanzania. In this part, I interview Ras Magere; a musician, activist and founder of Warriors from the East at their studio and community outreach centre…


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