How These Indigenous Rappers Are Using Hip-Hop To Preserve Their Language

They say music is the universal language of mankind, but Brayan and Dario Tascón are hoping music will help preserve their own language.

The duo’s hip-hop group, Linaje Originarios, is the subject of an AJ+ video posted Sept. 2. What sets Brayan and Dario, both from Valparaíso, Colombia, apart as artists is that they rap in Emberá, an endangered language, in the hopes of passing it on to younger generations of the embera people, which reside in the northwestern region of Colombia. Embera communities can also be found in Panama.

“We sing in our language to teach the children [in our community,]” Dario says in the video. “So the children don’t forget our culture, our language.”

But their music isn’t just enjoyed by their community. The rappers perform in big cities and even make music videos that can be found on YouTube. Check out one of them below, for their song “Hijos indigenas” (”Indigenous Sons”):

Watch the AJ+ video above and learn more their music and why the also write songs for peace.