Gokh-Bi System

 

Like reggaeton, which emerged from the barrios of Puerto Rico, African hip-hop is joining in as the new international music that is gaining global recognition. For twenty years or more, American hip-hop has influenced the music of the younger generations across the continent. Motivated by the cultural & political power of the music, African youth have adopted and adapted the music and its lyrics to their own struggle, ironically giving hip-hop renewed legitimacy. While the debate lingers in the U.S. over the fate of hip-hop, the music is very alive in Soweto's townships in South Africa, the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, the shantytowns of Haiti's Port-au-Prince, the trench towns of Jamaica, and the slums of Ghana and Senegal. Largely overlooked by international media and record industries, Senegal has developed into one of the continent's largest hip-hop markets. Dakar estimated to be the center of Sene-Rap and boasts over 3,000 local hip-hop groups with every street repped by a home crew.

Considered to be leaders of the emerging African hip-hop movement and one of the most popular African groups in U.S. today, GOKH-BI SYSTEM (pronounced Go-Bee) has created a style of music which fuses together Ancient African traditional rhythms with contemporary Urban America beats in a style which they've dubbed, "Ancient Meets Urban". The result is a sound that appeals to traditional music enthusiasts while at the same time reaches younger audiences seeking a more contemporary sound.