Nomadic Wax

Nomadic Wax is a fair-trade international music, film, and events production company with a social and global focus. It specializes in hip-hop and underground music.^[1] Nomadic Wax works with a network of artists and musicians worldwide who use art as a medium for activism, social change, and community development. American Ben Herson founded Nomadic Wax in 1999, while living in Brooklyn, New York. Herson graduated with a B.A. in African Studies and Anthropology from Hampshire College in 2000 and did post baccalaureate studies in Wolof (a West African language) at Columbia University.^[2]

Nomadic Wax has since expanded, with an additional office in Washington DC run by Creative Director, Magee McIlvaine.^[3]

Background

During the summer of 1999, Nomadic Wax founder Ben Herson discovered a local independent hip-hop scene in Senegal and became fascinated by the music which contained politically and socially conscious lyrical content .^[2] His attempts at persuading existing labels to publish the music met with difficulties.^[4]

Film and Television

Nomadic Wax began working with film in 2007, with the film “African Underground: Democracy in Dakar" ^[5] co-produced with non prodit film company Sol Productions. The film is a feature-length documentary that explores the role of youth hip-hop activism in the 2007 Senegalese elections. On December 11, 2008, “Democracy in Dakar” was screened on LinkTV.^[6] In 2009, it was screened on WHUT in Washington DC. Since then, “Democracy in Dakar” has been shown at dozens of film festivals and universities internationally.^[7]

“Democracy in Haiti” ^[8] is Nomadic Wax’s third documentary project. It follows a variety of young people to examine why Haiti’s youth have become so separated from mainstream Haitian society and the democratic system.

Notes