This episode gives an overview of the alternative music scene in Khartoum within the past 60 years by discussing the diverse influences leading to the emergence and development of Jazz, Zannig, and Rap musical genres in the city. We review the intersections of some of these genres with social class and politics in Khartoum and how they’ve become cultural products that were minimally represented and were not allowed to be fully legitimized by official media channels and institutions, thus they’ve historically been marginalized.

Interviewed in this episode are some of Sudan’s pioneer artists in Jazz and Zannig and through their stories, we discuss the cultural ‘otherization’ and social stigma imposed by the dominant elites against these genres. Despite these circumstances, we explore the process through which Jazz, Zannig, and Rap have become a part of the mainstream music scene in Sudan by utilizing alternative platforms such as the internet and social media.

Through this podcast, we invite Sudan’s youth to participate in the documentation and support of alternative music by any means possible.

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The production team for this episode are:

Researchers and Producers: Leena Shibeika, Almuzn MohamedElhassan, Mai Abusalih, and Alrassa.

Script Writers: Almuzn Mohamedelhassan and Mohammed Abdelazaaiz.

Presenters: Almuzn Mohamedelhassan and Mohammed Abdelazaaiz.

Music: Zain Records.

Audio Mixing: Tariq Suliman.

Project Manager: Zainab Gaafar.

Technical assistance: elMastaba TV.

Recording studio: Rift Digital Lab.

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