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The Nairobi sessions were recorded in collaboration with Baobabconnections.org, a young community website for which Buddha Blaze is a correspondent, and with the help of the Head Bangaz studio in Nairobi. The Aura rappers visited our studio with the help of Plan Netherlands, a NGO which supports the Aura project and which organized a tour through the Netherlands in which the emcees presented some developmental issues to school youth.

This month, Guderian and J4 receive four rappers from West Africa who represent the AURA (Artistes Unis pour le Rap Africain) project: Miryam (Senegal), Priss-K (Ivory Coast), Pheno-B (Niger) and Smockey (Burkina Faso). While dj Juma4 can make himself understood in French, he is far from a native speaker so he got the help of Guderian, a Congolese hip hop activist living in Holland, and journalist Didas who just happened to be around the studio and joined in the interviews.

In this first-ever African hip hop radio show in French, Guderian and the rappers talk about anything from Smockey's political track which was censored in Burkina to the emcees' AURA project which unites artists from all over West Africa. Priss-K (well known in Abidjan for being a member of Gbonhi Yoyoyo) even touches on the topic of female circumcision, a problem in parts of West Africa which she adresses in her rhymes.



Photo: Hercilya, Didas, Smockey, Senami, Juma4, Gina (Aura project), Priss-K, Guderian, Miryam, Pheno B (left to right)

In the second show segment we go to Nairobi, Kenya for a 3-hour Session presented by Bhudda Blaze who receives about ten studio guests and talks about the recent police brutality towards innocent slum dwellers which also affected some of the present emcees! The discussion also touches on the natural wealth of Kenya, an example of which can be seen at lake Magadi, a soda lake which is very profitable.

However, the Kenyan population hardly benefits as most profit is taken outside the country. Also a lot of the Kenyan soil is owned by a small group of people. We learn more about Kenyan history as Githuku does a praise poem to Mekatili wa Menza, the woman warrior. With Wenyeji, Ukoo flani, Kalamashaka, Chiz 'n Brain, Ambrose (Mandugu digital), Wakamba Wawili, Kaa, Point Blank, Yvonne, Girongi, Fundi Frank, Kevin (guitar) and others...



Listen to all shows in a row
Click here to listen to the whole show - July 2007 (nearly five hours)

The shows
Those with limited time or patience can also listen to each show on its own:
Guderian & J4 - émission en français (Amsterdam, Holland)
Buddha Blaze 1st hour (Nairobi, Kenya)
Buddha Blaze 2nd hour (Nairobi, Kenya)
Buddha Blaze 3rd hour (Nairobi, Kenya)

Right-click here to download the French show (mp3, size: 92 Mb)
and right-click here to download a shorter edit of the Nairobi session (size: 118 Mb).
If you prefer to listen online and hear the full show (streaming at a slightly lower bitrate, so better for slower connections) you can click here.

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