Didier Awadi is a rap artist from Senegal. Born in 1969 in Dakar, Didier Awadi grew up in the district SICAP Amitié (french for “Friendship”). A pioneer of the hip-hop movement in Senegal and West Africa, Awadi founded the group Positive Black Soul (PBS) with Doug-E-Tee in 1989.
Awadi shared his father’s passion for music, but in the early ‘80s, the young teenager was drawn to a totally different sound: rap. Didier, whose early influences included America’s ‘godfather of hip-hop’ Afrika Bambaata, French rapper Sidney and Ivory Coast rap pioneers the Abidjan City Breakersl.
He was nominated as a UN-HABITAT “Messenger of Truth” for his contribution to raising awareness among African youth of the commitments made by the Heads of State to achieving the Millennium Development Goals which aim to halve world wide poverty by 2015.
“We have to walk together and it is important for our leaders to listen to the streets to be able to build the continent. We have to believe in ourselves”, was DJ Awadi’s message to the youth and leaders of Africa.
Awadi has become a leading voice with his consciousness-raising lyrics, which express the hopes and fears of Africa’s young generation today.
“Présidents d’Afrique”
Awadi’s album “Présidents d’Afrique” is based on speeches made by Africa’s founding fathers and influential thinkers from the diaspora, was an interesting attempt to recount Africa’s political history through hip-hop.