The Culture of Language in Cape Town's Hip-Hop Community

In this essay, Cape Town-based artist Eavesdrop explores the complicated relationships between race and language in South Africa. While Eavesdrop raps in English, her essay reflects on the significance of Kaaps in Cape Town's Hip-Hop community and the individuals who have been instrumental in Kaaps being officially recognized. Looking at the history of South African Hip-Hop and the pioneers who often rapped in Afrikaans, Eavesdrop reflects on the precarious status English has had in South African Hip-Hop. Coming from the Cape Flats, which has been home to much of the Cape Town community that identifies as "Colored," Eavesdrop explores the recognition of Kaaps as one of South Africa's official languages. The Cape Flats is where Hip-Hop in South Africa first emerged. It would be members of that Hip-Hop community who would also become involved in creating an Afrikaaps dictionary, which would have an important impact on rappers from that community wanting to rap in Kaaps. Eavesdrop also reflects on the languages of the indigenous KhoeKhoe people, languages that have been lost by herself and by many of the descendants of those communities. To connect with their roots, there has been a movement to recognize those languages by many in the Hip-Hop community.