Senegalese hip-hop duo Keyti and Xuman aka Mr Xuman are the talents behind Journal Rappé, a weekly news segment broadcasting news through hip-hop and rap (in English and Wolof), in Senegal.
Recognized as social activists and “Senegal’s most popular rappers in Dakar’s prolific hip-hop scene”, Xuman and his collaborator Keyti, through their humorous and witty show, engage young Senegalese “with serious topics such as politics, climate change and corruption”. The success of the show, evident through its millions of viewership, has received numerous accolades for its ingenious form of engaging the youth and challenging political spaces through the potency of words, by way of hip-hop.
What’s more, their participation in the 2011 ‘Y’en a Marre’ (We’re fed up) movement “made up of a group of Senegalese rappers and journalists who come together to protest ineffective government and to encourage young people to vote,” highlighted their influential position, recognizing their “help to mobilize Senegal’s youth vote and oust incumbent President Abdoulaye Wade”.