The walls, did you notice them? Did you even look at them? These walls can reveal themselves to us at the bend of a street, at the intersection of a boulevard, at the exit of a highway. These walls can appear to us everywhere and nowhere at once. In Senegal, street art is considered a fully fledged form of cultural expression. First observed as one of the forms of visual expression of urban cultures, graffiti quickly became a symbol. It is therefore unsurprising to see the various collectives that make up Dakar storming the city walls and expressing their creativity under the admiring gaze of onlookers and with the complicity of local residents. Because street art in Senegal is collective and militant, it is a reflection of our society. The themes may differ, styles and typography as well, but they will keep one thing in common: a unity by and for the people. At the beginning of the pandemic these collectives were here to raise awareness, educate, accompany and support. Today they are here again to express and show our support to our black brothers and sisters on the other side of the Atlantic. They are artists, militants, activists, thinkers, philosophers, yes all that and so much more. They are the RBS Crew.
The RBS Crew, RADIKL BOMB SHOT, is a collective of graffiti artists founded on May 30, 2012 in Dakar by KING MOW 504, MAD ZOO and KRAFTS. Their motto; “Illuminate people's lives through their art”.
The RBS CREW is currently composed of 16 members, some of their works are available here.
Serigne Mansour Fall AKA Madzoo the radikl Killuminati, is an artist from the Dakar suburbs who entered the world of street art in 2004. His art is a way for him to convey messages and to put young people back at the heart of their own destinies. He is a smuggler who received the baton through the writings of Cheikh Anta Diop, whose thoughts he discovered long after his time at university. This is what will confirm for him the need to reform the educational model of our country. In particular university education, which denies by its omission a significant part of our cultural identity. He uses his gift to leave his mark on the city walls and share with his fellow citizens the knowledge acquired through his research.
In 2012, the RBS Crew is born, and together they are committed to giving structure to their actions, to becoming more professional and to developing partnerships with different actors, in order to accompany the cultural, social and economic changes of the country. A fervent disciple of Baye Laye (Seydina Limamou Laye), his messages also have a high spiritual connotation. He advocates the mixing of cultures, the enhancement of our identities and a deliberate openness. The radikl concept is for him the last springboard for revealing in reality the secret of hip-hop culture to a hitherto secular audience.