Somalis in exile send home rap tracks of peace

Hip-hop group Waayaha Cusub, or 'New Era,' is gaining the ear of Somalis from as far away as the US and Europe, but their controversial message challenges traditional norms and is attracting threats of violence.

By Matthew Clark | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

from the September 14, 2007 edition

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Nairobi, Kenya - Just weeks ago, Mohammed Abdi Jamal's job was to extort money from people at roadblocks in the rubble-strewn streets of Mogadishu, Somalia. His tool: an AK-47.

If the people didn't pay up fast, he says, he had to do "whatever was necessary."

"Since the day we were born up to today, we've been fighting, and we didn't know if it was right or wrong," he says, explaining that he was forced to help man roadblocks since he was a small boy by the warlords who've been fighting for control of the country for the past 15 years.

But when he heard the unique sound and message of a hip-hop fusion group composed mostly of young Somali refugees living in the hardscrabble "Little Mogadishu" neighborhood of Nairobi, Kenya, he was inspired to sneak across Kenya's border to join the group, which he did last month.

Now his weapon is a microphone. He's spitting out lyrics aimed at promoting peace, HIV/AIDS awareness, and women's rights, and tackling other issues on the minds of young Somalis. His rap group Waayaha Cusub, or "New Era," is gaining the ear of Somalis from as far away as the US and Europe, but their controversial message is challenging traditional norms and attracting threats of violence from older members of this conservative Islamic Somali diaspora.

"The music is different now, we are bringing a change to the youth," says the group's founder, manager, and main song writer, Shine Abdullahi. "The big change is that we have inspired young kids in Somalia who were carrying guns and doing drugs."

Mr. Abdullahi says his group is one of the first groups anywhere to make Somali music for young people. The older generation only makes traditional music about their problems and old-school love songs, he says. But, besides the main theme of reconciliation among Somalia's warring clans and peace in the region, Waayaha Cusub sings and makes videos about how badly AIDS has ravaged their society. It's a taboo subject among Somalis, many of whom prefer to think of AIDS as a disease for Christians, especially white people, say group members.

Sending a message to Somalia

Aside from music, the group now makes a 20-minute comedy radio program for youths that is broadcast every Friday in Somalia. The United Nations Development Program recently tried to organize a benefit concert in Somalia featuring Waayaha Cusub, but it was too dangerous. They couldn't go.

It doesn't matter, says Abdullahi, because the radio reaches Somalis in Somalia. But the group's growing fame in restive Somalia has also become a problem. Days after receiving a threat from someone claiming to be an Al Qaeda member a few months ago, band members say a teenage boy was killed in Mogadishu for promoting their music.

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To avoid being attacked for her controversial music, lead singer Falis Abdi must wear a mask on Nairobi's streets. Matthew Clark In 'Little Mogadishu,' hip-hop with a conscience