Hip Hop Music Economy and Social Change in Senegal, Francophone West Africa
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Reconsidering Cultural Entrepreneurship: Hip Hop Music Economy and Social Change in Senegal, Francophone West Africa Jenny Fatou MBAYE Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) London, July 2011 LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS AND POLITICAL SCIENCE 1 Declaration of Originality I certify that the thesis I am presenting for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author. I warrant that this authorization does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. 2 Abstract The increasing interest in the cultural economy is part of an attempt to invent new industrial development strategies that comprises a capacity to transform locations. In policy-making, the cultural economy is commonly framed from an economic perspective that salutes the role of the cultural economy and the dynamics of entrepreneurship in processes of urban and regional developments. Moreover, explorations of cultural economy and entrepreneurship are mainly represented by studies of Europe and North America. This thesis departs from such a normative perspective, and critically examines the links between a situated music economy, its cultural entrepreneurs and social change in West Africa. The empirical investigation of West African hip hop musical practitioners is framed by the notion of “community of practice”. The situated practices of these cultural workers and their music production ecology are investigated – methodologically – from a grounded perspective in order to grasp the originality of their materiality and aesthetics. The empirical focus of this thesis research is Dakar, one Francophone West African urban locale, which is contrasted with the ‘test case’ site of Ouagadougou. The case study locations are ‘experientially situated’, and over seventy semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of participants both directly and indirectly involved in the hip hop music economy. Underpinning this research is the starting point that using “community of practice” as a conceptual framework offers a theoretically informed empirical basis for situating cultural entrepreneurship in the context of the West African music economy. In response, this thesis introduces the transcultural dimension of Hip Hop to frame its 3 radical culturalisation of the West African music economy. This is done by singling out the political, social and theoretical significance of how hip hop entrepreneurship has become a force to be reckoned within social change in Francophone West Africa: this is a significant contribution of the thesis. 4 Acknowledgements I am profoundly indebted to my “A Team”. Andy C. Pratt, Pr., my PhD supervisor, for his constant support, his understanding guidance and his periodic confidence boosts; his insightful advices and critical way of thinking have been of immense value for me Alexis Nouss, Pr., my unofficial advisor and mentor, for his persistent belief and caring encouragement, and for having taught and inspired me how research can stand as an engaged practice Abdoul Aziz Dieng, my operational collaborator, for his ongoing interest and concern, and for his wide knowledge enlightening and grounding my research in the future of a practice I am grateful as well for the financial assistance I have received from a variety of funding sources. These in no small part made this thesis possible and include Departmental Research Studentships (LSE), a West African Research Centre (WARC/CROA) Graduate Travel Grant and a scholarship from the Foundation Lettera27 through its WikiAfrica Art project Last but not least, a sincerest big up to my biographical family, my ‘emotional site’! 5 Table of Contents PART ONE FRAMING THE ISSUE 11 CHAPTER 1 FRAMING THE RESEARCH 12 1.1. Introduction 12 1.2. Contradictions of the music economy 19 1.2.1. On the complexity of the cultural economy 20 1.2.2. On the consumption and production continuum 23 1.2.3. Productive role of cultural mediation or peopling the cultural economy 27 1.3. On cultural economy and entrepreneurial development 30 1.3.1. Cultural economy and West African development: (yet) another missed boat? 31 1.3.2. Cultural economy and development: which boat anyway? 35 1.4. Research design 38 1.4.1. Taking West African musical entrepreneurship seriously 39 1.4.2. Structure of the thesis 42 1.5. Conclusion 49 CHAPTER 2 OPERATIONALISING THE CONCEPTUAL 51 FRAMEWORK 2.1. Introduction 51 2.2. Considering traditional entrepreneurial landscapes 53 2.2.1. Entrepreneurial innovation and creativity 55 2.2.2. On the front of economics and business management studies 56 2.2.3. From sociology and psychology perspectives 59 2.3. Creative, innovative, cultural entrepreneurship(s)? 61 2.3.1. Cultural and creative innovation 61 2.3.2. Spatialising cultural and creative entrepreneurship 64 2.4. Entrepreneurial communities of practice 68 2.4.1. On the complexity and diversity of cultural and creative 70 entrepreneurship 2.4.2. On the cognitive and pragmatic spaces of West African musical entrepreneurship 74 2.5. Ideal-typology of West African musical entrepreneurs 79 2.5.1. Local cultural entrepreneurs 81 2.5.2. Cosmopolitan musical entrepreneurs 86 2.5.3. Hip hop entrepreneurs 91 6 2.6. Conclusion 95 CHAPTER 3 HIP HOP TRANSCULTURAL POLITICS 101 3.1. Introduction 101 3.2. Hip Hop in translation 103 3.2.1. On a hip hop genealogy 103 3.2.2. Mondialisation: beyond binaries 106 3.2.3. Hip Hop as a ‘transculture’ 109 3.3. West African interlude: on Senegalese postcolonial 111 sociality 3.4. Métissages of hip hop music 119 3.4.1. Hip hop music as a form 120 3.4.2. Performing hip hop music 122 3.5. On hip hop politics 127 3.5.1. To those who set the borders 128 3.5.2. To those who sit on the borders 132 3.5.3. Hip hop ‘biopolity’ 135 3.6. Conclusion 139 PART TWO SPEAKING FROM THE FIELD 144 CHAPTER 4 GROUNDING IN THE FIELD: RESEARCH DESIGN, METHODS AND REFLEXIVE ANALYSIS 145 4.1. Introduction 145 4.2. Reflection on my role as participant observer 146 4.3. Case study approach 151 4.3.1. Case selection 152 4.3.2. Initial contact 154 4.3.3. Formal interviews 157 4.4. Light ethnography 160 4.4.1. Participant observation 161 4.4.2. Informal interviews 163 4.4.3. Passive observation 165 4.4.4. Journal keeping 166 4.5. Reflexive research design 167 4.5.1. Iterative research design 167 4.5.2. From contextual to internal knowledge 170 4.5.3. Triangulation 173 7 4.6. Qualified grounded theory: iterative data analysis 177 4.6.1. On qualified grounded theory 178 4.6.2. Thematic coding 180 4.6.3. Theory building 185 4.7. Conclusion 189 PART SITUATING MUSICAL PRACTICES IN 191 THREE FRANCOPHONE WEST AFRICA CHAPTER 5 SENEGALESE FRAMING OF THE WEST AFRICAN 192 MUSIC ECONOMY 5.1. Introduction 192 5.2. Socio-economic history of musical production 193 5.2.1. Traditional functionalist economy of musical production 194 5.2.2. Contemporary popularisations of musical practices 196 5.2.3. On the 1990s and their generational aesthetics 202 5.3. Political economy of Senegalese cultural production 204 5.3.1. State monopolistic politics of cultural production 205 5.3.2. Presidential patronages of cultural production 209 5.3.3. ‘Politics of culture’ as cultural policy 214 5.4. Popular music: the “street child” of ‘politics of culture’ 218 5.4.1. Legal invisibility of musical makers and workers 219 5.4.2. Individualisation of musical practices 226 5.4.3. Nationalist and state copyright system 230 5.5. Conclusion 235 CHAPTER 6 WEST AFRICAN PRACTICES OF MUSICAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP 239 6.1. Introduction 239 6.2. Contextualised processes of an intermediating community 241 6.2.1. Spatial proximity of the community 242 6.2.2. Institutional proximity of the intermediation 247 6.3. Situated practices of musical entrepreneurs 253 6.3.1. Mutual engagement: beyond immaterial and passionate work 254 6.3.2. Joint enterprise: beyond precariousness and insecurity 260 6.3.3. Shared repertoire: beyond informality and trust 268 6.4. Conclusion 278 PART FOUR SPATIALISING HIP HOP ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN 282 FRANCOPHONE WEST AFRICA 8 CHAPTER 7 RADICAL HIP HOP MUSIC ECONOMY 283 7.1. Introduction 283 7.2. Textual music-making: on hip hop ethical economy 285 7.2.1. Demonstrating a networked individuality 287 7.2.2. Representing an emotional community 290 7.3. Peer musical production: on a distributed autonomy 293 7.3.1. From an ethnic enclave to a peer productive perspective 294 7.3.2. Ownership of the means of production as condition of peer 297 production 7.3.3. Dynamic business ecology in support to peer production 301 7.4. Communal governance of the hip hop productive community 305 7.4.1. Equipotential participatory process 306 7.4.2. Meritocracy and ‘benevolent dictatorship’ 309 7.5. Conclusion 314 CHAPTER 8 TOWARDS A GENERAL CONCLUSION 318 8.1. Introduction 318 8.2. On the hip hop entrepreneurial community 320 8.3. Ideal-typology and beyond “communities of practice” 327 8.4. On social change and hip hop political potential 330 8.5. Research implications and conclusions 335 Appendix A Interview Schedule 344 Appendix B Consent Form 349 Appendix C Primary Interviews Listings 351 Bibliography 355 9 List of Tables and Diagrams Diagram 2.1.