AfroDiaspora Colloquium

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Feb 27, 2026 · 5:00–7:00 PM · Knox Hall, Room 207

Knowledge of Self in ’90s Hip-Hop

Recap on Instagram

An in-depth conversation on how Five Percenter philosophy and its idea of “Knowledge of Self” shaped 1990s hip-hop, from the culture’s language to its worldview and political consciousness.

Speakers:

General Steele of Smif-N-Wessun, Brooklyn hip-hop duo

Saladin Allah, representative of the Five Percent Nation

Moderator: Ime Ekpo

Partners: Institute of African Studies, Columbia University

This program has concluded. It was open to the Columbia University community.

Ime Ekpo and Steele of Smif-N-Wessun in conversation at the AfroDiaspora Colloquium’s Knowledge of Self event, with Saladin Allah joining on a Zoom screen behind them.
Ime Ekpo with Steele of Smif-N-Wessun, joined by Saladin Allah on Zoom, at the AfroDiaspora Colloquium’s Knowledge of Self: 90s Hip-Hop conversation, Columbia University. Photo: Keyanna Jones