Thiat of Y’en a Marre: Senegalese Activist, Entertainer & Visiting NED Fellow

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Charles Mangongera, Kennedy Center, NED, Thiat, Y'en a Marre

Thiat (R)

Last week I had the pleasure of bumping into Thiat – activist, entertainer, and visiting NED Democracy Fellow from Senegal on two occasions.  First, we spoke briefly at NED before Charles Mangongera’s presentation.  He gave me a copy of a very interesting documentary in which he features prominently, Boy Saloum (there is particularly compelling footage of him being arrested while opposing Wade’s attempts to remain in power in Senegal).  Our second encounter (above) was on the metro while he was heading to the studio for a recording session (and I was returning from reading Liberian newspapers on microfilm at the Library of Congress).

In this blog I often speak on what I perceive to be a significant lack of interest by Africa watchers in regards to African entertainment issues, particularly those that appeal to youth.  NED has taken a great step in bridging this divide by recognizing Thiat.

To register for Thiat’s presentation at NED on January 30 and to get more background info on him, go here.  I’ve also been informed that he’ll be performing at the Kennedy Center soon.

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Thiat in DC: African Pop Culture and Political Activism

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African hip-hop, Howard University, Macky Sall, Senegal, Thiat, Y'en a Marre

Thiat, a Senegalese rapper who performed in DC earlier this year, appears to be solidifying his DC links.  I did not attend, but he spoke at Howard University yesterday on “Hip-Hop Creates Change in Senegal.”

Thiat and the Enough is Enough movement in Senegal played a key role in thwarting President Wade’s constitutionally questionable search for a third presidential term.  Wade lost a run-off election and Macky Sall, who just visited DC, became Senegal’s fourth President and ushered in the country’s inaugural First Lady of Senegalese extraction from both sides of the family (2 of Senegal’s first 3 first ladies were French and the other was of mixed Senegalese – Lebanese heritage).

It’s (almost) always good to see artists getting involved politically.  Hopefully DC’s Africana community will support more events of this kind.

Africa in DC this Weekend: Cultural Events – Senegalese Hip-Hop and Movies

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AFI, African Movies, African Music, Nomadic Wax, Senegal hip-hop, Thiat, Tropicalia, Y'en a Marre

There are a couple of exciting cultural events going on this weekend.

Several Senegalese Rappers from the Y’en A Marre (Enough is Enough) movement that helped thwart Abdoulaye Wade’s effort for a controversial (and constitutionally questionable) third term (almost exactly a year ago) will be performing at Tropicalia on U street this Friday.

You can read about the political harassment that one of the performers faced during the Wade administration here.

Read more about the event here:

nomadicwax.org/internationally-known-hip-hop-show-case/

You can read more about the host, Nomadic Wax, and a previous interaction with the DC policy community (in this case the Wilson Center) here (with full video).

Tickets are only $7.  I’m unable to attend, but I hope to hear from those of you who do.

Also going down, from this Thursday through Tuesday, is the 9th annual New African Films Festival at the AFI Theatre in Silver Spring.  I have been to several  films at the previous two editions of this event.  So far, the Franco-Ivorian, ‘Beyond the Ocean’, stands out as a clear favorite.

More info here:

http://www.afi.com/silver/films/2013/v10i1/naff2013.aspx

Speaking of the Ivory Coast, I will take advantage of the snowquester to publish (probably tomorrow) the analytical piece on the absence of Ivorian affairs from the DC policy community that I had promised over the weekend.