‘Faut que ça rappe!’: Musical revitalization, social healing and the politics of performance in the Gabonese rap world (2009–20)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to contribute to our understanding of how local rap worlds evolve by describing the successive processes of the decline and revitalization of rap music in Gabon between 2009 and 2020, and by questioning the technologies and mediations employed for that purpose. This article considers how these transformations overlap with a history of complex relationships between music and politics, arguing that the revitalization of the rap world was related to a broader attempt at social healing and reconciliation after a violent political conflict. It stems from a long-term ethnography study conducted in Libreville and the Gabonese diaspora from 2008 to 2016 and on the analysis of two recent rap projects launched in Libreville: ‘Bwiti Gang Cypher’ and ‘Catalogue Challenge’. Through the analysis of these two performances, I highlight how the attempt at revitalization was relying on a complex mix of mediations and technologies, including original hip hop conventions and local healing rituals and how it has allowed for the transformation of divisive conflicts into a cathartic moment of collective listening. This article finally proves the double dimension of musical revitalization, one where music rebirth and social healing overlap, and it shows how the embeddedness of music and politics can be permanently transformed through the agency of social actors who develop a creative play between different technologies and mediations.