Definitions | Bonkó Enchemiyá: The Code Hidden in the Beat

What if every drumbeat was a message in plain sight?

In this episode of Black History Buff: Definitions, we break down bonkó enchemiyá—the coded drum language of Cuba's Abakuá brotherhoods. But this isn’t just history; it’s a key to understanding how Black communities across time and continents have used music as resistance, refuge, and revolution.

From the streets of Havana to the basslines of hip-hop, we explore how sound becomes cipher, how rhythm becomes rebellion—and how the oppressor always hears noise while the community hears truth.

Featuring reflections on reggae, jazz, steel pan, and trap, this episode reveals the pattern beneath the pattern… and invites you to listen more closely.

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