Seavas Abi and Sista, Build Communities of Resistance! “Kanak_innen Rap” as an Intervention into Debates on Policies of Migration?

Participants: EsRap - Esra Özmen, hip hop artist, Deniz Dikmen, fim director and producer, Njideka Stephanie Iroh, spoken word artist/poet
Moderator: Petja Dimitrova

The so-called “Kanak_innen Rap” is street culture, performed by migrants and inscribed by their living circumstances, which deals with stories of “reality” and dreams, and criticizes exclusion and social problems. To this day, it has presented a central tool for emancipatory processes and self-definition, protest and a (counter-)knowledge mediation that enables the taking over of spaces through language, the body and awareness, despite pitfalls such as projections of consumerism or the reproduction of conservative gender roles.

Which potential for politization does hip hop have in Austria and to which extent is it involved in current debates on migration policies? Which emancipatory rap projects exist beyond the reproduction of sexist, macho and homophobic imagery? How do they communicate anti-racist awareness, and to which extent are they identified as part of migration struggles? How does the park groove and what’s the message? These questions outline the field of investigation for the panel discussion which will gather anti-racist rap artists and activists.