Abstract
The premise of this chapter is based on the tendency among rap artists to sing about the places they come from. In Malawian rap, there is a recurrent reference to the ghetto, with the rappers claiming they are singing as a way of representing this space. The chapter explores the different nuances that the ghetto attains in the music, showing that despite the constant references to the ghetto, the rappers hold divergent attitudes about it. These include emphases on the need to escape the ghetto, the need for politicians to recognise and develop the ghetto, or the celebration of the ghetto as a formative space.
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Notes
- 1.
See the L City UMP Cypher 2018, for example, featuring rappers from Lilongwe.
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Lipenga, K. (2023). Reppin’ the Ghetto: Space and Identity. In: Rap Music and the Youth in Malawi. Pop Music, Culture and Identity. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-15251-1_6
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