Globalizing the Underground

This chapter outlines the early history of Rap Galsen (Senegalese hip hop), showing the emergence of two originating schools: internationally circulating groups like Positive Black Soul (PBS), Daara J, and Pee Froiss, and hardcore groups like Rap’Adio, Waa BMG 44, and Yatfu. It problematizes the ghetto, the street, and the underground as globally circulating hip hop myths, and argues for local specificity when linking hip hop to urban marginalization. In Dakar, the street and the ghetto represent a particular experience of urbanity tied up in colonization and underdevelopment, and the hip hop underground defines itself not only through lyrical and linguistic content, but through musical aesthetics. Ultimately, this chapter highlights the extent to which Rap Galsen’s own origin story has been produced and finessed over decades to better align with globally circulating hip hop myths.