‘Orality is my reality’: the identity stakes of the ‘oral’ creation in Libreville hip-hop practices

Abstract

Based on an ethnographic study in Libreville, this presentation examines the political and identity issues contained in the inscription in the register of orality for Gabonese hip-hop artists, mainly in rap music and slam poetry. It describes the history of these two genres’ appropriation in Libreville, then analyses how the claim for orality is deeply shaped for Gabonese youth with a dynamic of identity construction and of reafricanization, manifested in three different ways: the creation of a peer language (toli bangando), the use of a traditional Fang epic (mvet), and the staging of religious initiation societies. It finally discusses how this identity construction coincides with postcolonial issues and with connections with the black diaspora.