Omékongo Luhaka wa Dibinga

This rap began as a poem, written by Omékongo while he volunteered for two months in a Congolese refugee camp watching people die and watching mothers forced to sell their children for the equivalent of a quarter. He says the poem is an entirely true story. He saw it as his calling to document the atrocities he saw and call on the world to become aware and active and realise they were supporting the war. To further reach out to young people, Omékongo took his poem and set it to the song 'Welcome to Atlanta', by rap star Ludacris, renaming it 'Welcome to the Congo'. Many of the young people in the Congo are educated through Hip Hop and so Omékongo wanted to provide a 'curse-free and misogyny-free' song that would educate a new generation of activists who will bring about change in the DRC.

Year of Entry: 2009
Category: Main Prize
Artform: Music
Location: Congo, Democratic Republic of the (Congo-Kinshasa)
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