The Politics of Mongolian Hip Hop
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2019
⏱️ 49 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
MC Dizraeli hears how Mongolia’s massive hip hop scene is shaping the country’s future. He finds surprising lyrics that dispense moral advice, worry about alcoholism or praise the taste of fresh yoghurt on the Mongolian steppe. Freestyles and conversations across Ulaanbaatar reveal global hip hop influences and deep resonances with Mongolia’s musical heritage. Hip hop is so popular that Mongolian politicians try to buy up rappers to support their campaigns. However, in the midst of a changing Ulaanbaatar Dizraeli listens to lyrics that are critical of politicians, asking who or what is holding Mongolia back?
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | We can't eat gold, we can't drink a fool. It's a naturalist future. |
| 0:08.0 | Hip-hop is a tool to express our views about what is working in politics and what is not working. |
| 0:17.0 | Words are our weapon. We can express our thoughts directly. |
| 0:21.0 | And when we are doing hip-hop we feel truly free. |
| 0:25.0 | They're bigging themselves up but with reference to collective values. |
| 0:30.0 | Hip-hop could have a huge impact on the path of Mogul. |
| 0:35.0 | You've just heard some of the biggest names in Mongolian hip-hop, |
| 0:41.0 | Big G, Jenny, Dynba Inc. between them they've topped the charts and |
| 0:46.8 | had millions of YouTube views. Not bad considering Mongolia only has a population of |
| 0:52.1 | 3 million. |
| 0:54.0 | But this hip-hop might surprise you. |
| 0:56.6 | These rhymes are highly political, |
| 0:58.8 | they celebrate family values, |
| 1:00.6 | and they're giving voice to Mongolia's young generation. |
| 1:05.0 | I'm Disraeli, MC and spoken word artist from the UK and for the BBC World Service |
| 1:11.8 | I've come to Mongolia's capital, Ullen Bata, U B, to learn more about the hip-hop scene here. |
| 1:18.0 | It seems every taxi you get into is playing hip-hop. It's everywhere. Rappers are the voice of young people and their issues. |
| 1:26.0 | Politicians even try to buy up rappers to harness their power and influence. |
| 1:30.0 | I've loved hip-hop since the age of nine, it's my life, so I'm fascinated to learn |
| 1:35.8 | more about the unique role it's playing here. So who better to start with than Big G, Mongolian hip-hop's biggest star who's been releasing albums |
| 1:45.8 | since 2008? Big G is huge throughout Mongolia, appearing on TV, radio, in magazines, on billboards. |
| 1:55.0 | I'm going up to his flat, where he's built his own studio in a building behind a busy |
... |
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