{"id":110,"date":"2013-12-02T19:49:41","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T19:49:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.r-prins.com\/?page_id=110"},"modified":"2026-10-01T15:17:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T15:17:44","slug":"swahili-hip-hop","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.r-prins.com\/?page_id=110","title":{"rendered":"Swahili Translation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Books:<\/strong><\/p>\n

They Are<\/em> Us\u00a0<\/em><\/a>by Katama Mkangi (University of Georgia Press 2027)<\/p>\n

We Are Still in the Fort<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy (Vanderbilt University Press 2026)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Anthologies<\/strong><\/p>\n

“Night Meal” by Lusajo Mwaikenda Israel in\u00a0I Was Alive Here Once: Ghost Stories<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>(Two Lines Press 2026)<\/p>\n

“A Neighbor’s Pot” by Lusajo Mwaikenda Israel and chapter one of\u00a0Walenisi\u00a0<\/em>by Katama Mkangi in No Edges: Swahili Stories <\/i><\/a>(Two Lines Press 2023)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Journals<\/strong><\/p>\n

“They Make It Local, Right Here: An Oral History of Tanzanian Hip Hop,” interviews by KBC, Sugu, Nata and Boni Luv in\u00a0Asymptote <\/em>(forthcoming)\u00a0<\/p>\n

“The Adult Began as a Child,” “Heart,” “The World Had No Master,” “Mango Tree and Orange Tree” and “A Matter of Honor” by Jacob Ngumbau Julius in\u00a0Wasafiri\u00a0<\/em>(forthcoming)<\/p>\n

“I Write About Sex That Isn’t Safe”: Six Swahili rap songs excerpted from\u00a0Brain Flavour<\/em>, in\u00a0Equator Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Lucky Ring” by Lusajo Mwaikenda Israel in\u00a0The Queens Review\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Skin” and “Lion and Cat”<\/a> by Jacob Ngumbau Julius in\u00a0New Verse Review\u00a0<\/em>(also nominated for\u00a0Best of the Net\u00a0<\/em>anthology)<\/p>\n

“Jela”<\/a> by LWP Majitu in\u00a0Rehearsal\u00a0<\/em>(Tenement Press)<\/p>\n

“Mayai, Minister of Disease”<\/a> by Euphrase Kezilahabi in\u00a0Words Without Borders<\/em> (also longlisted for\u00a0Best Literary Translations 2027<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Swahili rap song “Vituko Uswahilini” by Suma G in Fieldnotes\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Mkwawa” by Shaaban Robert and “[we are manly lions]” and “[two big fish]” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in Consequence Forum\u00a0<\/em>(first two also longlisted for Best Literary Translations 2026<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Selection from\u00a0The People of Gehenna<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>by Tom Olali in\u00a0Michigan Quarterly Review<\/em><\/p>\n

“Arise” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Sycamore Review<\/em><\/p>\n

“When They Happen To Unite” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Hopkins Review <\/em>(also longlisted for\u00a0Best Literary Translations 2025<\/em>)<\/p>\n

“I Wish” “Destitution Get Thee Gone” and “The World Is Ash”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Mantis: A Journal of Poetry, Criticism and Translation\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Everything Would Be Scattered” and “The World Is a Brittle Tree” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Bennington Review\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“A Fraying Rope”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0RHINO Poetry <\/em>(also longlisted for\u00a0Best Literary Translations 2025<\/em>)<\/p>\n

“A Pit of Darkness”<\/a> and “They Walk Around with Axes”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Washington Square Review<\/em><\/p>\n

“Diving Into the Dry Earth”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in Ezra: An Online Journal of Translation<\/em><\/p>\n

“The World Is a Carcass” and “Dance of the Spinning Top”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Harvard Review Online\u00a0<\/em>(also see my essay about translating “Dance of the Spinning Top” in\u00a0Swahili Forum<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Dead Leaf Said To the Green” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Atlanta Review<\/em><\/p>\n

“Days of Eating Junk”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in Action, Spectacle<\/em><\/p>\n

“What Would You Do For a Treat?” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Tampa Review<\/em><\/p>\n

“He Shuns Me”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Rattle<\/em><\/p>\n

“Oa!”, “Heart”<\/a> and “Minnow of the Sea” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Hunger Mountain<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cTima and Ima\u201d by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Laurel Review<\/em><\/p>\n

Three Swahili hip-hop songs “Rats” <\/a>by LWP Majitu, “Jail”<\/a> by LWP Majitu ft. Inspector Haroun, and\u00a0“Story! Story!”<\/a> by Sloter ft. Juma Nature in “Translations Tuesdays” feature on Asymptote blog<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Dead are Dead Already”, “Mombasa’s Swanky Rakes” and “Your Companion” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in Redactions: Poetry & Poetics<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Donkey Breeder”, “Go Beat On the Hive”, “What Is Mine Is Yours”, “All of It Dies Inside You” and “My Dinghy” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in North Dakota Quarterly<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Fort”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in\u00a0Columbia Review<\/em><\/p>\n

“Gossipers Are Gossiping” and “The Ponds Ran Out of Water” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy in Malahat Review\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“The Porcupine Left Its Hovel”<\/a>\u00a0by Muhammad Kijuma in\u00a0Plume<\/em>, along with my translator’s note<\/a><\/p>\n

“Quiet”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy and “The Bee is a Scholar”<\/a> by Mathias E. Mnyampala\u00a0in\u00a0Los Angeles Review\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“Cassava From Jang’ombe”<\/a> by Siti Binti Saad, “Amina”<\/a> by Shaaban Robert, “It’s No Big Deal To Catch Fish”<\/a> and “You Might Walk On Land, Hippo”<\/a> by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy, “My Old Dowry Chest”<\/a> by Abd ai-Rahim Sai’d Muhammad Ba Salim, and “[O tapper of palm wine]”<\/a> and “The Song of the Trees”<\/a> by unknown authors\u00a0in\u00a0Exchanges: A Journal of Literary Translation<\/em><\/p>\n

“End of the Rope,” and “Bottom of Darkness” by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy and “The Grape” by an unknown author appeared in Inventory: A Journal of Translation<\/i>
<\/i><\/p>\n

“Cracking the Oyster”<\/a> by Ahmed Sheikh Nabhany in Fiasco Press: A Journal of Swarm Scholarship<\/i><\/p>\n

Other Endeavors<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aside from translating Swahili poetry, I have also been involved for many years with the Swahili hip-hop community in Dar es Salaam.<\/p>\n

As a partner in Asar Entertainment, I helped produce the Swahili Hip-Hop Summit<\/a>, which took place in 2012 and 2013.<\/p>\n

I have also collaborated with several local hip-hop artists, and you can hear the results at my\u00a0SoundCloud page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And finally, please enjoy some of my music videos (more available at my YouTube page<\/a>).<\/p>\n