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Rapping to Be Repped in Liberia

 By: Anne Sophie Ranjbar, Associate Director and Maima Caranda, Volunteer As you walk through Monrovia, you can’t miss the catchy West African beats that play on every street. While Nigeria has traditionally been the hub for music in the region, Liberia’s young “Hip Co” artists are rapidly building a following in the region and beyond. Music has the power to inspire and inform people—acting as a medium through which to channel popular sentiment and shape collective dreams. As Liberia faces its next presidential election—a critical opportunity to consolidate democracy and peace after a troubled past—music can also serve as a [...]

2017-05-06T00:00:00+00:006th May 2017|

Music Post-Ebola: Artist Amaze says Hipco Songs Made Tremendous Impact

By: Heather Maxwell. This blog was originally published by Voice of America.   Music had a big role to play both during and in the aftermath of the West Africa Ebola epidemic. I found that out when I visited Monrovia in August. A lot of artists wrote songs about the personal experiences people had facing the disease. Henry Amazin’ Toe, a.k.a Amaze, is a well-established hipco artist who composed and recorded such songs.I met Amaze several times during my stay in the Liberian capital. The first time was during a group interview I held in Mamba Point with other artists (Teddy Ride and Margaret [...]

2016-09-21T00:00:00+00:0021st September 2016|

Foreign Missions Endorse Vote Awareness Campaign

By: Joaquin Sendolo. This article was originally published by Liberia's Daily Observer. British Ambassador to Liberia David Belgrove has promised to support Accountability Lab-Liberia in its campaign to sensitize Liberians how to make proper decisions in the upcoming 2017 presidential and general elections. Accountability Lab-Liberia last Friday launched a music video titled, “Whom to Vote For,” which aims to reach Liberians in all parts of the country, sensitizing them about their right to vote and how to properly utilize their votes to reverse the poor representation and leadership they had experienced in the past. Prior to the formal launching of the [...]

2016-06-20T00:00:00+00:0020th June 2016|

Liberia: Using Music to Enlighten the Youth On Why It Is Important to Vote

By: Claudia Smith. This article was originally published by the Daily Observer. "I believe we are to know who to vote for in other for us to have a better nation or society, despite the poverty and hardship we are faced with. We shouldn't be carried away by politicians with mere talks to gain their selfish desires" Once again, voting time is near. Sadly, many don't know why they or should cast their vote; they vote because of the benefits and money that they feel belong to voting. Trying to change these perspectives, two talented artists, who have been working [...]

2016-05-19T00:00:00+00:0019th May 2016|

SMART Liberians Seek a More Open University of Liberia

By: Brooks Marmon, Accountability Architect. Accountability Lab supported SMART Liberia’s Update 8 campaign through the Accountability Incubator. On December 4, several hundred students of the University of Liberia gathered at the institution’s Fendell Campus for a convocation hosted by the student advocacy and training group, SMART Liberia. The assembly sought to sensitize students on Liberia’s Open Government Partnership commitments, of which one component commits the government, with support of civil society, to regularly update and standardize government websites. SMART Liberia has launched a campaign, Update 8, supported by OSIWA and the Accountability Lab to help advance this goal. To this end it [...]

2020-03-03T16:04:03+00:0022nd December 2015|

#CorruptionMustGo: Musicians Mobilize to Minimize Corruption in Liberia

By: Brooks Marmon, Accountability Lab Program Officer. This blog post was originally published by OSIWA. As Liberia enters its second decade of peace, its music industry continues to gain popularity. Artists like Takun J have a national following and have leveraged this platform to speak out against injustices at all levels of society. The Accountability Lab, an OSIWA partner, has been working with hip co (the genre of Liberian urban music) musicians in Liberia to promote integrity and combat corruption. With an overwhelmingly young population, almost half of Liberians are under the age of 18, Liberia’s hip co-stars are uniquely positioned [...]

2020-03-03T16:03:52+00:009th December 2015|

Forging New Ground – Jim Tuttle – First Accountability Lab/Newhouse Visual Storytelling Fellow

By: Jim Tuttle, Accountability Lab Visual Storytelling Fellow. This blog post was originally published by the Newhouse Center for Global Engagement. Earlier this summer I lived in Liberia for about 10 weeks, working as the multimedia resident for a NGO called The Accountability Lab. I’d like to thank AL and the Newhouse Center for Global Engagement at Syracuse University for making this wonderful opportunity available.  It was an excellent learning experience, and a great chance to push my visual skills and portfolio forward. My projects there included filming a music video in an abandoned Monrovia hotel for a Liberian musician named [...]

2020-03-03T16:02:53+00:0016th November 2015|

‘Corruption, Corruption’: Partnering with ‘Amaze’ to Promote Social Change Via Music Video

With the support of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), the Accountability Lab and Amaze are pleased to announce the launch of a collaborative initiative to combat corruption in Liberia through the power of Hip co music. The centerpiece of the initiative, a music video for the track ’Corruption, Corruption’, will be complemented by a discussion on Hip co and accountability, and performances at high schools and universities in Monrovia and Buchanan. Produced by the Accountability Lab, the video for ‘Corruption, Corruption’ was filmed at the Ducor Hotel. Towering over Central Monrovia, the edifice, constructed in the 1950s, [...]

2015-10-14T00:00:00+00:0014th October 2015|
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