Inside the impact of US’s ‘hip-hop diplomacy’ in Bangladesh

Hip-hop, colloquially known as rap, constitutes a music genre with its origins rooted within the urban milieu of New York City in the early 1970s. Notably, the infusion of hip-hop culture into the Bangladeshi socio-cultural milieu is not a recent development. The inception of hip-hop culture in Bangladesh traces back to the early 1990s when it began gaining notable traction. 

This cultural diffusion was catalysed by the release of a rap music album, titled "Tri-Rotner Khepa," in 1993, by Ashraf Babu and Charu. This landmark release served as a pioneering effort to introduce the tenets of hip-hop culture within the Bangladeshi context. Subsequent to this milestone, a succession of rap music collectives, including Stoic Bliss, Deshi MCs, Uptown Lokolz, Jalali Set, 1230 Klassick and Comilla Hip Hop Hood, among others, have contributed to the propagation of hip-hop culture within Bangladesh by releasing a series of resonant rap music compositions.

In recent times, discernible developments have been observed in the proliferation of hip-hop culture within the context of Bangladesh. Notably, a surge in the emergence of youthful talents engendering hip-hop musical compositions has come to the fore, addressing diverse societal issues. A pertinent illustration is the trajectory of the burgeoning hip-hop artist Aly Hasan, whose composition titled "Bebshar Poristhitis" garnered substantial traction across social media platforms, thus catapulting him to prominence. Subsequently, Hasan's release of "Jubo Unnayan" further underscored his thematic engagement with issues of societal importance.

Of particular interest is Aly Hasan's recent composition "Bazar Gorom", which critically explores the phenomenon of price escalation in the Bangladeshi market. This composition exemplifies the artist's inclination to leverage the hip-hop medium for social commentary and advocacy. 

An emergent figure within the burgeoning realm of Bangladeshi hip-hop is Tabib Mahmud, whose distinct artistic expression has been characterised by collaborations with Rana Mridha, resulting in the creation and dissemination of several rap compositions. These compositions are notable for their thematic engagement with a diverse spectrum of societal concerns, encompassing issues such as the plight of street children, educational imperatives, unemployment challenges, equity considerations and other pertinent social topics.

The United States embassy in Bangladesh has been actively fostering and propagating hip-hop culture, launching several initiatives aimed at advancing the scope of hip-hop culture. These endeavours also include the organisation of workshops and the facilitation of residency recaps centred on the expansive domain of hip-hop culture.

This analytical exploration aspires to scrutinise the foundational stimuli underpinning hip-hop culture's ascendancy within the socio-cultural milieu of Bangladesh. It further seeks to elucidate emergent trends within this cultural paradigm and inquire into the rationale underpinning the pronounced involvement of the United States embassy in promulgating hip-hop culture within the Bangladesh context.

The concept of "Ping-Pong Diplomacy" has gained widespread recognition, denoting the reciprocal exchange of table tennis players between the United States and China during the early 1970s, a pivotal initiative that significantly contributed to fostering diplomatic ties between the two nations. 

In contrast, the notion of "Hip-Hop Diplomacy" remains relatively less explored in the annals of diplomatic history. Renowned musicologist Mark Katz, affiliated with the University of North Carolina, has extensively examined this phenomenon in his authoritative work published by Oxford University Press titled "Build: The Power of Hip Hop Diplomacy in a Divided World."

Adam Bradley cited this book and elaborates on the term "Hip-Hop Diplomacy" as "A person to person practice that offers the possibility of transforming conflict through cross-cultural performance and collaboration. Notably, the United States government inaugurated its foray into the realm of hip-hop diplomacy in 2011, a strategic endeavour that subsequently culminated in the establishment of the innovative program dubbed "Next Level." This initiative seeks to harness the unifying capacity of hip-hop culture to foster cross-cultural engagement and facilitate harmonious interactions on a global scale."

Council on Foreign Relations hosted a podcast on 25 May 2022 with guests Toni Blackman, rapper and Mark Katz, Alumni Outreach Director of Next Level. In this podcast, Mark Katz said "Since 2013, I have been associated with what I consider to be a very important cultural diplomacy program run out of the State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. And the program is called Next Level, and it sends US hip-hop artists around the world to make people-to-people connections with citizens of other countries, to promote a more positive image of the US, and to create mutual understanding. And I have had the pleasure and privilege of travelling to dozens of countries around the world with this program and being able to see up close how music brings people together who might otherwise have no real connections". 

CBC Radio reported on 24 January 2020, that since 2014, Next Level has been to 30 countries. Over 100 artists have taken part in the program, ranging from graffiti artists to dancers and beat makers.

In Bangladesh, Next Level began working in November 2014 and between 5 November to 17 November 2014, EMK Centre in Dhaka hosted a residency Recap. Recently in 2022, the US Embassy in Dhaka hosted a delegation of four award-winning American Hip-hop artists who led a series of training sessions for 54 up-and-coming Bangladeshi hip-hop stars. This program collaborated with American Voices - A US cultural diplomacy organisation.

In conclusion, it can be asserted that within the context of Bangladesh, hip-hop culture has undergone a transformative evolution, embracing novel trends that encompass a broader spectrum of social issues. Concurrently, discernible efforts by the United States embassy have been observed in promoting and fostering the dissemination of hip-hop culture within the country's socio-cultural milieu. 

Muzahidul Islam is a sociology graduate from the University of Barishal and research coordinator at "Steps Ahead," a Barishal-based Joy Bangla youth award-winning government-registered social organisation. Email: Muzahidul.islam.bss@gmail.com

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