Bissau: Fashion, flair and hip-hop

With their own flamboyant sense of style, young rappers Willpack Danfa (left) and Seco Dabo reflect something of the colourful and eclectic fashion of Bissau.

The city is the capital of Guinea-Bissau, a former Portuguese colony which still has strong cultural ties to other Portuguese-speaking nations from Angola to Brazil. Its dress sense is influenced by anything from West African traditions to American hip-hop.

Benedita Danfa braids the hair of her sister Satu. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Mamadu Darame poses for a picture. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Wearing a yellow dress, Nhama Mane poses for a photograph. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Mistra resident Babucar Silla dances for the camera. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, GUINEA-BISSAU. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Salon Danfa poses for a photograph. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Fatu Sake (left) and Fanta Silla, two friends, pose for a picture in Mistra. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Rapper Willpack Danfa poses for a photograph in front of a wall painted with the word "thug". — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

Sadja Ndja, 18, poses with her hands on her hips. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

A woman poses for a photograph in the Mistra district of Bissau. — 16 Apr 2014. BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau. REUTERS/Joe Penney

"Clothes reading “50 Cent” or “Thug Life” are commonplace, and Rihanna’s latest hits blare out from rusty radios beneath the mango trees."
Joe Penney, Reuters Photographer

If you drive through the Mistra neighbourhood of Bissau - the charming, ramshackle capital of Guinea-Bissau - signs of peoples’ love for American hip-hop are everywhere.

The local football pitch is named “California” after Tupac’s song “California Love.” Clothes reading “50 Cent” or “Thug Life” are commonplace, and Rihanna’s latest hits blare out from rusty radios beneath the mango trees.

While a fondness for American hip-hop is shared throughout West Africa (Tupac is nearly everyone’s favourite rapper), Guinea-Bissau’s unique cultural influences give it its own distinctive style.

A colony of Portugal until 1974, the small, West African nation maintains strong cultural and economic links to other Portuguese-speaking countries including Angola and Brazil.

As a result, Guinea-Bissau’s fashion sense is a mix of hip-hop, flamboyant Angolan “kuduro” style, and more traditional West African outfits.

People dress boldly and creatively, favouring bright colours (including lots of neon!) which stand out against the red earth and pale, concrete walls of the capital.

Bissau-Guineans seem far less conservative than their francophone neighbours Senegal and Guinea. Here, the semi-tropical climate and Portuguese creole give the country a Latin American feel.

Earlier this month I was covering the final day of presidential campaign rallies in Bissau, and I was inspired by the general originality with which people dressed. I felt remarkably uncool by contrast.

At an event for the country’s main party, PAIGC, I met Willpack Danfa, a young rapper from Mistra district, who was attending with some of his friends. After taking pictures at the rally, I went to Danfa’s house a few days later to shoot portraits of him, his friends and family around the neighbourhood.

They were initially shy but nearly everyone got into it, posing in their best outfits. I was even treated to some freestyle rap.