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Dancehall City: Zongo Identity and Jamaican Rude Performance in Ghanaian Popular Culture

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2022

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Abstract

The explosion of Ghanaian Reggae-Dancehall reflects the influence of Jamaican-inspired popular culture in Ghana today. This subculture is championed by local Rastafarians and by youth from the zongos (internal migrant, largely Islamic, unplanned neighborhoods). Suffering social alienation, many zongo artists have adopted postures similar to their Jamaican counterparts—mirroring Rasta and rude identities as counter-hegemonic resistance. Alleyne explores several artists variously located between the zongo, the Reggae diaspora, and the Ghanaian state, examining how subjects rework Jamaican tropes and voice their aspirations within a globalizing Ghana and rethinking the zongo as space of rousing diasporic consciousness.

Résumé

Résumé

L’explosion du Reggae-Dancehall ghanéen reflète l’influence de la culture populaire d’inspiration jamaïcaine au Ghana aujourd’hui. Cette subculture est défendue par les rastafariens locaux et par les jeunes des zongos (migrants internes, en grande partie islamiques, dans des quartiers non planifiés). Souffrant d’aliénation sociale, de nombreux artistes de zongo ont adopté des postures similaires à celles de leurs homologues jamaïcains, reflétant les identités rasta et grossières comme résistance contre-hégémonique. Alleyne explore plusieurs artistes diversement situés entre le zongo, la diaspora Reggae et l’État ghanéen, examinant comment les sujets retravaillent les tropes jamaïcains et expriment leurs aspirations au sein d’un Ghana mondialisé et repensant le zongo comme espace de réveil d’une conscience diasporique.

Resumo

Resumo

O desenvolvimento fulgurante do reggae-dancehall ganense reflete a influência da cultura popular de inspiração jamaicana no Gana atual. Esta subcultura é liderada pelos rastafáris locais e pelos jovens dos zongos (bairros de migrantes ganenses, maioritariamente islâmicos e não planeados). Por se encontrarem em situação de exclusão social, muitos artistas dos zongos adotaram posturas semelhantes às dos seus homólogos jamaicanos — reproduzindo as identidades rasta e uma certa insolência como formas de resistência contra-hegemónica. Alleyne acompanha o percurso de vários artistas provenientes de diversas origens, entre o zongo, a diáspora reggae e o Estado ganês, analisando o modo como estes indivíduos se apropriam dos tropos jamaicanos e expressam as suas aspirações, e reinterpretando o zongo enquanto espaço de uma consciência diaspórica crescente.

Keywords

cultural performancediasporaidentityraceGhanaReggaeDancehallHip Hopzongo subculture
Type
Article
Information
African Studies Review , Volume 65 , Issue 1 , March 2022 , pp. 211 - 233
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the African Studies Association

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