Meeting Alif and Baby Fatim
Mina, Oumy from the trio Alif, photo © R. Bijl
Like all hip hop scenes around the world, the Senegalese rap metier is dominated by men. But quality can't be counted, and the few female artists out there do shine bright and they are indispensible to the very foundation of local hip hop. The three-girl crew Alif and solo rapper Baby Fatim are probably the most well known female emcees on the western tip of the motherland. Alif put out their first album in 1999 which was well received at the time. They have announced that they will go abroad next year to record a cd. Baby Fatim, one half of Jef Wareef, is also still in the game. She was invited to an international festival this coming month (see below).
But trying to find more info about these artists on the web is harder than marketing 2step in Tanzania... just can't be done! So we set out to talk to these women at their homes in Dakar (early 2002). Take out your French dictionary and go listen to the interviews (10 and 15 minutes in realaudio format).
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