Fulbright-mtvU Fellows

Why Hip Hop???

In addition to my focus on strengthening the Hip Hop Therapy Project, I was also interested in learning more about why young people in northern Uganda were drawn to Hip Hop music and culture. I informally interviewed approximately 20-25 youth participating in the Hip Hop Therapy Project. Most of the young people I spoke to were young men between the ages of 14 and 18. I asked each of them the following questions:

• What do you like about Hip Hop?
• What do you dislike about Hip Hop?
• How did you first hear about Hip Hop?
• Who is your favorite Hip Hop artist and why?
• What influence do you think Hip Hop has on young people in northern Uganda?
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Tags: 50 Cent, Akon, Breakdance Project Uganda!, Chris Brown, Fabulous, Fat Joe, Hip Hop Therapy Project, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Michael Jackson, Ne-Yo, P-Square, R. Kelly, Rick Ross, Snoop Dog, Tupac, Uganda, Usher

Two Weeks Before Heading Off To Malawi

It’s two weeks before I head off to Malawi and I am buzzing. I am currently trying to read everything ever written about HIV/AIDS in preparation and the reading list just seems to be getting longer and longer. I am definitely “hooked” on this subject.

I recently got a CD of Peter Mawanga’s “Zanga Zo zama,” the primary musician who I plan to collaborate with in Malawi. Peter’s music is hard to get in the states and he actually arranged an inter-continental rendez-vous between myself and a mutual friend who gave me his CD. I closed my eyes yesterday and listening to the whole thing from start to finish and was left salivating at this guy’s breadth of musical knowledge. He rocks.
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Tags: Aids, HIV, Malawi, Peter Mawanga, UNICEF, Vingoma NA Visekese