Music is never simply noise: it is the sound of a society, of a time, of a place. Music marks the spirit of people; people make music that reflects their thinking and feeling. Music, then, always has the potential to be dangerous - it can inflame the revolutionary - which is why it has been banned and censored at many points in history. It articulates the ideas and emotions that are too strong for words, and that "cannot remain silent." This refusal to remain silent is why music has so much social power. In this month's theme, we explore music as a reflection of, and force for, social change. Music that is angry, joyous, and necessary.

X-Plastaz have taken the hip hop culture into their homes in Arusha ('A-Town'), a city in northern Tanzania. They have created a unique style that brings together local Maasai a cappella chants with rapping in Swahili and Haya languages. Today, X-Plastaz is one of the big names on the Tanzanian hip hop scene. Having grown up in a poor area of Arusha town they talk about what it means to be young and African, looking for perspective in a globalized world. "Msimu kwa msimu" ("Season to Season") addresses the topic of true and false friends who "are there as long as the sun is shining, but will drop you when times are rough."

X Plastaz are: Ruff-Nell (Nelson Buchard), Gsan (Godson Rutta), Ziggy-Lah (Abdalla Minja), Merege (Yamat ole Meibuko), Dineh (Diana Rutta), Steve (Steve Rutta).

Gsan is cofounder of Music Mayday Tanzania and working for the creative and artistic development of young Tanzanians.

"I Am Hip Hop" is a video created by youth through the Global Action Project, a project that defines hip hop as a youth movement and culture, an expression of the daily life experiences of urban youth.
Watch the video!