An Open Letter To Kilimanjaro Music Academy

The contents of this letter do not hold my views or howsoever and do not belong to me.

It has reached a point where true talent has to be anointed. As the British saying goes, “If you can’t be good, be careful”. Honestly the way hip hop has been treated on the Kilimanjaro Music Awards is a shame and I promise there won’t be any word in relation to my humble opinion on this open letter.
For how many years has Hip hop been kicked to the curb? Loyal fans have been dull with the hope that next year maybe hip hop will be fully acquainted with the facts and awards it deserves. So it’s all true that over a long distance, you learn about the strength of your horse; over a long time, you learn about the character of your friend. And we have come to understand the intention and bias of the Kilimanjaro Music Awards.

How does the Kilimanjaro Music Academy expect Hip Hop musicians to be motivated to do full LP’s for nothing? I mean over the course of years now Hip Hop has managed to place well executed and solid albums on shelves but they go unrecognized as if it’s all fine. An example of such atrocity would be the song “Propaganda” by Fid Q. How can the Academy allow that song to go unnoticed? Come on people, why do we lie or fool ourselves; let’s come to terms with reality here. 


It might just be a genre or a sub genre to you but to many, especially youth, hip hop is a culture, it’s a way of expressing the oppressed people in the community, the way of getting through a rough day in life, a sense of belonging, hope and identification. The meek voice is brought through to the large audience and appreciated immensely. It looks like now even Africa doesn’t want to push Hip Hop that has knowledge and positive message in it; this is very upsetting to see. Can we Africans live our civilized African ways and allow Westerners to represent what started on our very own soil? Please allow the African society to be presented as it is. Allow us to reap for what we have sown. Equality among the genres is highly anticipated. This bandwagon jumping has been too much.


What exactly is the work of the academy, do they really do research that is unbiased? Do they go to the streets and feel the buzz? Let’s say the winner is really acknowledged by the vote cast of the citizen, then it’s safe to say that the categories and the nominees should be selected by the mass next time.


We have to consider the quality of music, mass appeal, the comportment of the artist, their involvement in the community, influence on society and many more upon selecting the best hip hop artist of that particular year. I mean Africa, East Africa, Tanzania we are faced with dilemmas day and night and hip hop is the way of coping for many today. 


Do not allow these artists to feel discouraged or those winning unfairly feel that they deserve it when others beg to differ. This year’s awards have passed and this letter is just a beginning. Hear our voices; hear the cry for equality, change, difference and acceptance because if you don’t, more action will be taken until we all make the most of it.
Regards,
Daniel A. Sepetu