Maasai Hip Hop

Only a little music has found its way out of East Africa in the past years. Almost unnoticed from the rest of the world a new generation of musicians has created its own style. Their mix of hip hop with local melodies and Swahili lyrics, sometimes called Bongo Flava, has quickly become East Africa's number one selling pop music, rocking the airwaves through newly formed private radio stations in and around Tanzania. X Plastaz and their album Maasai Hip Hop set out to introduce their version of this new Tanzanian sound to the rest of the world. X Plastaz have taken the Bronx-invented hip-hop culture into their homes in Arusha ("A-Town"), a city in northern Tanzania. They have created a unique style that brings together local Maasai a cappella chants with rapping in Swahili and Haya languages. Although the Maasai people have become an internationally known symbol of rural lifestyle, in Tanzania they are often seen as backward and not fitting into modern urban society. X Plastaz proved that Tanzania's cultural heritage can be meaningful beyond the village level.