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Verses of Youth Political Participation


Author(s) : Ken Lipenga
Pop Music, Culture and Identity

Abstract


One of the key observations about rap music is how it has embodied a political voice for the youth. This is true of Africa as well, and of Malawi in particular. In this chapter, the aim is to examine the youth’s awareness of their political agency as articulated in several songs produced in the run-up to the 2019 tripartite elections in Malawi. The chapter has three parts, examining how the songs lament the vulnerability of the youth as they fall victim to political exploitation, how they illustrate partisan allegiance and appeal to the conscience of the politicians, and how they militate for youth agency through casting of the vote.


Original language en
Pages (from-to) 63-94
Publication status Published - 2023

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10.1007/978-3-031-15251-1_4

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10.1007/978-3-031-15251-1_4

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