Interview: Baloji makes music with a conscience

Sep 4th, 2011 9:00 AM UTC
By Malaka Gharib

Baloji

Not too long ago, I had the chance to interview Baloji, a Belgian-Congolese rapper, at a video shoot in Brooklyn with MTV Iggy. With a four inch-high wedge of hair, dapper blazer and thick-soled combat boots, Baloji doesn’t look like a typical rapper, but don’t let that fool you. His politically charged lyrics, sung in French, Swahili and other African languages, have bite — and are a constant reminder that you should never forget your roots, no matter where you come from.

Growing up in Belgium, it was hard for Baloji to fit into European culture, especially because he didn’t have papers. “They reminded me that I was Congolese before anything else,” he told me during our interview. But this experience allowed him to dig into his heritage, explore his self-identity, and express that diversity in his music. If you listen to any of his songs, you’ll find a mix of musical styles, from dancehall to jazz to traditional African rhythms. His band members, who hail from Tanzania, Burkina Faso and Cameroon, also give his music a pan-African flair.

When asked how he stacks up to other Congolese artists, he describes himself as alternative. “The main music that they listen to there is different from what I’m what doing. They’re suffering from an embargo, which restricts the music,” he explains. But Congolese love him nevertheless — because he can say what they can’t. “If Congolese artists start saying political statements, they won’t have access to the media and press. They have to behave the way they want you to,” he says.

One of Baloji’s bandmates

Probably one of the coolest things about the MTV video shoot was that many of the extras (apart from being terribly attractive people) were Congolese activists. Ntumba Mukendi, one of the dancers, started her own fashion label, Ntumba Ntumba Apparel, to help fund raise money for the DRC. And Jesus Tshimanga, an actor in a posh tuxedo jacket and a fake cigar, sends recycled shirts to Congo with his NGO, Congolese Stand Up.

Baloji is also very active in Congolese issues, especially in the realms of immigration and education. Back home in Belgium, he runs an organization that connects new Congolese immigrants with pro-bono lawyers when they have documentation issues. He also helped donate benches and chairs to the University of Lubumbashi in the DRC. “When I was there in 2007, I saw five classes of 60 students all dressed up in white shirts, perfectly done but sitting on the floor, and that really moved me,” he said. “I realized that the first thing I could do was give them a place to sit in class.”

That kind of global consciousness is music to our ears. Thank you Baloji and MTV Iggy for talking to ONE, and we hope to hear much more from you soon. Listen and download to Baloji’s album Kinshasa Succursale here, and be sure to watch more videos and interviews of Baloji on MTV Iggy’s website.

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