In Kenya, Free Expression Brings a New Life for Music, Youth

Joni Mitchell wrote a song with the lyrics, "You don't know what you got till it's gone." Today in Kenya it's the exact opposite. Kenyan youth know what they have because they never had it before. After forty years of government censorship Kenyan youth can listen to what they want, they can run their own radio stations, and print their own magazines and this freedom is giving birth to a vibrant youth culture centered around African hip-hop.

This story in the Berkeley Daily Planet shows how important free expression is and how dangerous and stifling censorship is to culture. There are still threats to free expression in Kenya, but this story is a great tale of the power of music and culture to lift young people's spirits.

If you want to know more about Kenyan hip-hop and African hip-hop check out www.africanhiphop.com.
And don't forget to fight for free expression here in America. Go to the Rock the Vote Action page to learn more about censorship. We don't want to live out those Joni Mitchell lyrics.