Cette thèse appréhende les processus identitaires et les transformations socioculturelles en cours au travers de l’appropriation du rap au Gabon depuis la fin des années 1980, ainsi que l’enchevêtrement de ces productions de catégories identitaires avec des rapports de pouvoir campés dans le domaine des hiérarchies entre aînés et cadets, des relations de genre, des stratifications des réseaux de la musique, ou des rapports de force avec les autorités politiques. Une investigation dans les archives du Gabon éclaire d’abord la manière dont, tout en marquant des ruptures avec la génération précédente, les rappeurs se sont inscrits dans la continuité de plusieurs décennies de pratiques de musiques dans la ville et de dialogues transnationaux avec les productions culturelles en circulation dans l’espace Atlantique. Une deuxième partie se consacre à la description des relations de genre et de la construction de la masculinité, révélant l’agentivité développée par certaines femmes des mondes de la nuit et de la musique. Enfin, une troisième partie se focalise sur les revendications identitaires et idéologiques des rappeurs et sur les nationalismes qu’ils réinventent, dans des emboîtements entre l’ethnique, le national, le panafricanisme et le transnational. Elle traite des métamorphoses de la sorcellerie dans les réseaux du rap et de la world music africaine, du spectacle de la nation, et des mobilités transnationales au travers desquelles quelques rappeurs forment de nouvelles catégories identitaires hybrides. / This dissertation apprehends the identity processes and sociocultural changes taking place through the appropriation of rap music in Gabon since the end of the 80s, as well as the entanglement in power relations of those identity categories produced by young people, in the field of hierarchies between elders and youngers, of gender relations, of musical network stratifications, or towards the political authorities.An investigation in the archives of Gabon firstly highlights how, while marking ruptures with the previous generation, rappers were enrolled in the continuity of several decades of urban musical practices and transnational dialogues with some cultural productions circulating in the Atlantic space. A second part is devoted to the description of gender relations and to the construction of masculinity, revealing the agency developed by some women into the urban worlds of the night and of music. Finally, the third part focuses on rappers’ identity and ideological claims, and on the nationalisms they reinvent in negotiation between ethnic, national, transnational and panafrican levels. It deals with the transformations of witchcraft in rap music’s networks and in African world music market, with the spectacle of the nation and with transnational mobilities through which some rappers form new hybrid identity categories.

As with women journalists in other male-dominated fields, female music writers have long endured gendered harassment. In the newsroom, this sexist treatment is foisted upon female music journalists by their male editors and colleagues; in the outside world, it often occurs at the hands of male sources, readers, and online trolls. Unfortunately, the victims of such abuse are frequently left to cope with it alone, and many report that their mental health suffers in the process. Some may even ultimately decide to quit pursuing music journalism entirely. These women report wanting to feel more supported within their work environment, as well as through informal means, such as via a network of fellow female writers. Feminist media theory, utilitarianism, and ethics of care will serve as the study's theoretical bases. This research, based on in-depth interviews with women music journalists, suggests that the vast majority of participants had faced sexism and/or gendered harassment during their time as a female music journalist, experiences that left many of them feeling frustrated and devalued. Based on the research, I offer recommendations on how to make the industry more inclusive for women writers.