Dig.it.(y)al(l): Tracing digitization in South Africa through AfricasGateway.com. (1st March 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hunter, Lorien
• Is Part Of: Journal of African media studies. Volume 10:Number 1(2018)
• Page Start: 105
• Page End: 133
• Publication Date: 2018-03-01
• Subjects: Mass media -- Africa -- Periodicals; Communication -- Africa -- Periodicals; Africa -- Social life and customs -- Periodicals; 302.23096
• DOI: 10.1386/jams.10.1.105_1
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2040-199X

Abstract

In this article, I consider the historical development of hip hop culture and community in South Africa, focusing on the contributions of one key player in its history: AfricasGateway.com (AG). Although the birth of South African hip hop predates the launch of this website by many years, as I will demonstrate in this article, AG held a pivotal position in the cultivation of South Africa's hip hop culture and community. To make this argument I will open with a brief summary of the scene's development prior to AG's launch in 1997, and then continue the narration of this history as it surrounds the South African hip hop website. Using a combination of data obtained from the site itself as well as personal interviews, I ultimately seek to reveal, not only how AG helped to develop hip hop culture in South Africa, but also the role that hip hop websites in general have played in shaping its community and culture.