Events Calendar

Ukoo Flani: Pioneers of Kaya Hip Hop

Join us for a performance by Kenyan rap group Ukoo Flani, pioneers of kaya hip hop. The performance will be followed by a discussion about the role of African youth in the development of hip hop as a global art form and the issues facing urban youth in Africa.

Ukoo Flani is an acronym for Upendo Kwote Olewenu Ombeni Funzo La Aliyetuumba Njia Iwepo, which means “love everywhere all who seek teachings of the Creator; there is a way.” The group is composed of thirteen men from Mombasa slum neighborhoods in Kenya who have transcended religious and tribal differences to make groundbreaking music. Among the Mijikenda people of Kenya’s coastal province, “kaya” means homestead or temple. The young rappers have embraced the historic term to form a style of hip hop that is positive, innovative, peaceful and socially conscious.

Admission is free

Organized by Joanna Demers (Music), Patrick James (International Relations) and Francille Rusan Wilson (American Studies and Ethnicity). Co-sponsored by the USC Center for International Studies, the USC Thornton School of Music, the USC Department of American Studies and Ethnicity, the USC Office of the Vice Provost for Globalization, the USC Levan Institute for Humanities and Ethics and Amagezi Gemaanyi Youth Association (AGYA).

For further information on this event:
visionsandvoices@usc.edu

Location: George Finley Bovard Administration Building (ADM) -

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Daria Yudacufski