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Providing to belong: masculinities, hustling and economic uncertainty in Nairobi ‘ghettos’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 January 2021

Naomi van Stapele
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Abstract

Hustling as a concept has travelled through the global soundscapes of impoverished, neglected, racialized and otherwise marginalized urban settings. The widespread rearticulation of the term ‘hustling’ in a broad range of urban languages reveals that its use in particular forms of Black Atlantic music cultures speaks to shared experiences worldwide. Simultaneously, it shows the flexibility of this term to acquire new and unfolding meanings. This article focuses on the modes in which poor young men in Nairobi (re)deploy, translate and practise hustling to fit immediate circumstances and imagine possible futures, and on the meanings these men produce in the process. I argue that interrogating hustling as a practice provides insights into gendered experiences of urban life worlds in the underserved and highly policed areas of Nairobi, which may tentatively resonate with young men in comparable positions worldwide. I specifically examine how positions of (junior) manhood are configured by localized hustling practices to elucidate how navigating fear and hope, while facing extreme uncertainty, simultaneously defines and undermines their sense of manhood.

Résumé

Résumé

La débrouille, en tant que concept a parcouru le globe, trouvant sa source dans les installations urbaines les plus précaires, négligées, marginalisées, et souvent théâtres de ségrégation raciale. Le renouveau linguistique du terme « hustling » (débrouille) dans toutes sortes de langues urbaines vernaculaires, et la culture musicale « Black Atlantic » indiquent une expérience commune dans les quartiers populaires de part le monde entier. Il montre également la flexibilité du terme alors qu'il acquiert de constantes et nouvelles interprétations. Cet article se concentre sur les façons dont les jeunes hommes défavorisés de Nairobi s'organisent et pratiquent la débrouille pour améliorer leur survie immédiate, et imaginer un avenir possible, et ce faisant, ce qu'ils produisent. Il semble évident que considérer la débrouille en tant que gestion de la vie quotidienne illustre le genre d'expériences vécues dans les quartiers de Nairobi qui sont les moins desservis mais paradoxalement hautement policés, et sert de comparaison avec le quotidien de jeunes hommes vivant dans d'analogues circonstances de par le monde. Nous nous pencherons plus particulièrement sur ces pratiques locales de la débrouille en tant que rites de passage pour devenir des hommes adultes, alors que la façon de négocier la peur et l'espoir dans des situations d'incertitude extrême, tout à la fois définit et sape leur sentiments de masculinité.

Type
Harnessing the ‘hustle’
Information
Africa , Volume 91 , Issue 1 , January 2021 , pp. 57 - 76
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Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2021

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