International Hip-Hop

Hip-hop has become the international musical currency. From Greenland to Goa, Pakistan to Peru, the rap and rhythm have become the defining sounds of a generation. And the way musicians around the globe approach it is the subject of a new CD, The Best of International Hip-hop (Hip-O), with tracks from countries as disparate as Israel, Croatia, Portugal, and Greece.

"Americans are expanding their minds, and realizing that good beats are good beats, and it doesn't matter where good flow is from," said Lanfranchi. "Music, any kind of music, is international."

"Even though it's an African-American art form that really started in New York, it's made a massive impact," explained compiler and producer Pascale Lanfranchi. Lanfranchi, who is also a hip-hop journalist and radio presenter, was very careful in her choice of artists, noting that "the whole concept was to expose artists who were not well-known. So I didn't go for the big shots in different countries. I went for what I felt was good music and represented the country."

While there are bands from all over still sampling James Brown and all kinds of American funk, Lanfranchi didn't want any of that. Everything had to have a local flavor, among other criteria. "The track had to be in the original language of the country," she said. "I wanted original material. I made sure I got approximate translations of the lyrics, because I didn't want to promote negative things. It's street and hip-hop, and it's all relevant."

In some instances, very relevant. Switzerland's Sens Unik offer the powerful "Helvetik Parc," a scathing indictment of governmental policies and the supposed perfect society, and Texta, from Austria, plead for German linguistic understanding; it's a long way from tales of guns, dope, and hos.

Sometimes the music itself was very specific, like Greenland's Nuuk Posse , who sample whales singing behind their rap, or "MBS, from Algeria, used Arabic instruments. It's an American form they've adapted to the style of their own country."

Ultimately, though, it could seem like a global jump on a very American bandwagon (even though hip-hop's roots lie in Jamaica and Africa). And while many countries are just developing their own take on the music, Lanfranchi observed, "certain countries like France, Japan, and Germany have very advanced skills. America is just becoming aware of it. But in France, MC Solaar was doing hip-hop in the ‘80s. It's something they've perfected. Other countries are just starting, but record companies understand it's profitable, so they're open to new artists."

Although France remains the biggest market for the music outside the U.S., thanks to homegrown talent like MC Solaar and Imhotep, the local product has also made massive inroads in other countries, like South Africa, whose scene is sampled on Kwaito: South African Hip-Hop (Stern's).

For those expecting the usual rhythms, it proves to be an odd mix, musically owing a lot more to house than standard hip-hop, loud, driving, and often quite fast, a scene developing its own distinct parameters, even if they have little to do with traditional South African music. And an upcoming compilation of Cuban hip-hop promises that Latin rappers will be bringing something fresh into the international mix, too.

"Americans are expanding their minds, and realizing that good beats are good beats, and it doesn't matter where good flow is from," said Lanfranchi. "Music, any kind of music, is international."

International Hip-Hop

"Americans are expanding their minds, and realizing that good beats are good beats, and it doesn't matter where good flow is from," said Lanfranchi. "Music, any kind of music, is international."

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