The turning point was on 19 March this year. Senegal was celebrating the ten-year anniversary of President Abdoulaye Wade and the first political power change since independence. Yet this was no ordinary anniversary – it was marked by a huge gathering denouncing the "stolen elections". The large anti-Wade happening was an occasion for the "Y’en a marre" collective to make a dramatic entry onto the Senegalese political scene. Their goal is to go beyond protest by instigating the concept of a "new type of Senegalese" (more politically involved and with new living habits) and many of their members are rappers. RFI Musique met up with three figures from the rebellious rap scene.

Keur Gui, militant rap

© DR

The members of Keur Gui, a rap group from Kaolack (190 km south-east of Dakar), are key players in the "Y’en a marre" movement. Omar Cyril Touré, alias Thiat, and the crew started off their career with the 1999 album Première mi-temps, most of which was censored (4 of the 6 tracks) because it criticised the Senegalese president of the time, Abdou Diouf, and their local mayor. Their second album came out in 2002, under the malicious title Ken Bugul ("No one wants it"), a reference to the first album’s failure. It’s original, hardcore style set it apart from soft and soul rap.

The rappers attacked politics, religion, society and even their own milieu, taking a jibe at the small world of Dakar rap, like in Crew autopsie. Ken Bugul confirmed their position as leading lights of Senegalese rap. Then followed Liy ram ("If we don’t watch out" in Wolof) in 2004 and Nos connes doléances in 2008, with some incredibly rich lyrics that won the group a nomination at the African Hip Hop Awards.

Thiat, whose musical references include the US group Public Enemy, regularly upsets the authorities and he is used to custody and receiving intimidations. Recently, he appeared before the Criminal Investigation Department on 25 and 26 July 2011, following his alleged slanderous comment about the president during a demonstration. "Right now, we’ve chosen to put our musical career on hold and focus on working with the people until the end of the 2012 elections. But that doesn’t mean we aren’t doing stuff. Right after the elections we’re planning on bringing out our new album Encyclopédie," he told us.

Simon’s fight against insecurity

© DR Simon

Another "Y’en a marre" member, Simon, got into rap after appearing on the podiums set up for unknowns to perform in Dakar neighbourhoods. His career really took off, though, when he released the album Digué boor la ("promise is debt" in Wolof) in 2006. This young antagonist released his first solo album Eternel rebelled in 2007. It includes the hit Le Mbalax est mort, a fictional piece of music in which Simon ingeniously imagines a musical stage on which the great names of Mbalax (Youssou N'Dour, Omar Pène) have lost their popularity and fallen into musical decline then social insecurity.

Simon is a prolific writer. 2011 was to include the release of a box of three albums, each with its own musical tone, but the project has been postponed until after the elections because of his work with the "Y’en a marre" group. "There will be other delays because of our work," he warns. "I’ve been planning a tour for after the Ramadan for a long time, but now our political activity has really increased and some sponsors are dropping us to look good to the authorities. The Ministry of Culture is blocking the equipment it usually lends us. In fact, they want to stop us performing inside the country."

Fou Malade, offbeat rapper

Although it might sound like a prophetic choice of name, Fou Malade, who is really called Malal Talla, has a clear vision of rap. "Some rappers opt for crude, direct lyrics, but I like to put the emphasis on humour and poetry along with a good dose of satire." Fou Malade started off rapping in 1994 but didn’t bring out his first album Degueuntane ("truthful" in Wolof) until nine years later. His monotonous, youthful voice makes for an unusual rapping style.

After some brilliant studies that include a degree in English from Dakar University, he decided to democratise rap in Senegalese society and get his message over to the most possible people. It was his hit track Taximan, sung in a duet with Viviane N'Dour, one of the best-selling singers in Senegal, that Fou Malade made his first general public performance in 2004. Next came Radio Kankan in 2005, with the track Guente Bi ("both dream and nightmare" in Wolof), whose video clip plus 3D animation was a first in Senegal. The latest disc, On va tout dire, was produced in 2008 by the French label Lalu Music.

Like the other members of the "Y’en a marre" collective, his political activity gets in the way of his music work. "The day that Thiat was arrested, I was in the studio working on my next album. I had to go off and participate in the demonstration. That kind of thing can bring some unexpected hitches to your timetable," he admits. He then went on, "The 'Y’en a marre' movement gives us respect and kudos from the people and keeps us up at the forefront."

By Moussa Diop

Translation: Anne-Marie Harper