Movement

Photo of hip hop artists on stage with a crowd cheering them on

Planet Hip Hop: The World celebrates 50 years of hip-hop around the globe

Hip-hop turns 50 this summer, and its influence has been felt in all corners of the globe. From the streets of the Bronx to a revolution in Beirut, from anti-apartheid messages in Cape Town to graffiti in Cairo. Throughout the summer, we will be exploring Planet Hip Hop.

Planet Hip Hop: The World celebrates 50 years of hip-hop around the globe
DMV rapper and record producer Oddisee realized early on that purpose and success are self-designated.

Sudanese American rapper Oddisee on overcoming cultural taboos and confronting self-doubt

Sudanese American rapper Oddisee on overcoming cultural taboos and confronting self-doubt
line of dancers in front of a church

In Germany, dancing is banned on 'silent' religious holidays, including Good Friday

In Germany, dancing is banned on 'silent' religious holidays, including Good Friday
Enrique Kiki Valera is a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, sound engineer and producer. He’s best known as one of the world’s greatest players of the Cuban cuatro, a mid-size guitar with eight strings grouped in sets of two.

Kiki Valera on Son cubano and how he developed a unique musical perspective

Kiki Valera on Son cubano and how he developed a unique musical perspective
Dakota Camacho, dancer and musician, seen in a body of a water unclothed with long hair.

‘I can speak the language of rhyme:’ Dakota Camacho on Guam, family and hip-hop

‘I can speak the language of rhyme:’ Dakota Camacho on Guam, family and hip-hop
Momma Nikki as a child with their father Jean Bonny Etienne in an undated photo.

Haitian American artist Momma Nikki sings about a complicated father-child relationship — and reconciliation

On their most recent album titled “Momma Exposed,” Seattle-based, Haitian American artist Momma Nikki pays tribute to their late father.

Haitian American artist Momma Nikki sings about a complicated father-child relationship — and reconciliation
For Dr. Enongo Lumumba Kasongo, whose stage name is Sammus, Afrofuturism has been a well of inspiration and a living current underneath all her work.

Forging new space: The multidimensional Afrofuturism of Sammus

For Dr. Enongo Lumumba Kasongo, whose stage name is Sammus, Afrofuturism has been a well of inspiration and a living current underneath all her work.

Forging new space: The multidimensional Afrofuturism of Sammus
Black and white cover of composer Arooj Aftab

The ‘strange grace’ of singer Arooj Aftab

In her latest record, “Vulture Prince,” Pakistani composer Arooj Aftab uses words from Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib and 11th-century Persian poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, alongside electronic samples and touches of jazz trumpet.

The ‘strange grace’ of singer Arooj Aftab
Sabha Aminikia immigrated to the US as a refugee and began studying at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. But even as he launched his career in America, his music was often focused on Iran.

Iranian American composer Sahba Aminikia: Music transforms like raindrops that 'wash this part of humanity'

Iranian American composer Sahba Aminikia, who had to leave his homeland due to religious persecution, says his pain comes out in his music.

Iranian American composer Sahba Aminikia: Music transforms like raindrops that 'wash this part of humanity'
Ethiopian American Musician Meklit Hadero hosts an ongoing series at The World about stories of music and migration.

Ethiopian American musician Meklit Hadero: 'We use music to talk about the things that are hard to talk about'

As part of "Movement,” an ongoing series from The World about the lives and work of immigrant musicians, Ethiopian American musician Meklit Hadero recounts conversations with fellow musicians in Ethiopia about the unifying role of music and culture amid the conflict in Tigray.

Ethiopian American musician Meklit Hadero: 'We use music to talk about the things that are hard to talk about'
(Clockwise from top left) Meklit Hadero in red lighting, Sinkane stsnding in front of wooden wall, Diana Gameros standing in front of a brick wall and Hello Psychaleppo looking down at a keyboard.

Four musicians grapple with the same question: What is home?

“Movement,” a one-hour special from The World, brings you stories of global migration through music. Together, host Marco Werman and Ethiopian American singer Meklit Hadero blend song and narrative in a meditation on what it means to be American. We follow a once-undocumented singer in San Francisco on a long-awaited trip back to Mexico, reflect on the experience of exile with a Syrian DJ and hear a Sudanese American artist play his first-ever show in Sudan — all guided by Hadero as she reflects on her own American story.

Four musicians grapple with the same question: What is home?