UK #HipHopEd Manifesto

Over the last 2 years the UK#HipHopEd crew have been working towards a manifesto of our beliefs. On Monday 4th November we will be inviting responses to this manifesto as part of the relaunch of our UK #HipHopEd Twitter chats. These chats were the groups first official foray into HipHopEd, following on from the ground-breaking work of our US family. The chats will continue weekly throughout Novemebr before the work on our 5th UK #HipHopEd seminar in February 2014. If you are interested in matters of hiphop and education, find us on Twitter using  '#HipHopEd' and have your say on the topics raised. peaCe

When Words Collide - BBC Radio 1Xtra - 27/1/13. 9pm

Nick Taylor's documentary exploring the relationship between hiphop and spoken word poetry airs this Sunday on BBC Radio 1Xtra at 9pm. The documentary centres around a night organised by poet Angry Sam that took place at East London's, Bedroom Bar last August. A synopsis of the night is included below; it was a great night  and you can find out who won if you listen to the show on Sunday!

Via 1xtra website...

When Words Collide

"Are hip-hop and poetry worlds apart? Or are the lines between these two celebrated art forms starting to blur? Nihal investigates the relationship between hip-hop and poetry, hearing from some of the finest rappers and spoken word artists around - including Chuck D, KRS-One and Scroobius Pip.

Along the way, we head to a bar in East London where five rappers and five poets are battling it out across three rounds to decide which form of expression is the best. The results may surprise you...

In Round 1 of Poets vs Rappers, the two teams do what they do best. We find out the shared history of the two art forms, and learn that the connection between hip-hop and poetry might go further back than we think - from the vibrant rap and poetry nights in New York in the 90s, to the legendary 'godfathers of hip-hop' such as Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets, to American recordings of the 1920s. Could the romantic poets and Shakespeare even be connected? Spoken word artist Kate Tempest and hip-hop artist Akala tell us how.

Round 2 sees our competing poets and rappers taken out of their comfort zones, where poets have to do their thing to music, and rappers have to do their thing without a beat. Nihal speaks to some of today's finest spoken word artists who started off as rappers, including Kate Tempest, Polar Bear, The Ruby Kid and Scroobius Pip. We also hear from established rappers who have taken themselves out of their comfort zones and strutted their stuff at spoken word nights. UK rappers TY and Mystro tell us why so many rappers are crossing over in to spoken word today. Finally before we find out how our own rappers and poets got on, we meet poet Mark Grist and MC Mixy, otherwise known as The Dead Poets, who tell us about their unique theatre show about learning each other's art forms.

Then, in our final round of Poets vs Rappers, it's an out and out battle of words as our rappers and poets clash - but this isn't the first time a rapper and a poet have gone head to head. At the beginning of 2012, teacher-turned-poet Mark Grist battled MC Blizzard as part of Don't Flop, the UK's largest rap battle league. We find out how this battle became an online sensation, and hear from other spoken word artists who have tried their hands at battle rap.

In hip-hop, a rap battle is one of the best places to show off your lyrical skill. We head to Shake The Dust, the UK's biggest ever youth, poetry slam, where a new generation of lyricists are embracing poetry. We hear from those competing about their love of words and how they draw influence from both poetry and hip-hop.

But where are these new poets and rappers coming from? Nihal finds out how both poetry and hip-hop are being used in education, from the many brilliant poetry and rap workshops, to the growing 'HipHopEd' movement, which aims to bring hip-hop culture in to the classroom and prove that it can sit comfortably next to classical poetry.

Finally we return to Poets vs Rappers, to hear what happened when our competitors clashed and find out the winner."

peaCe

curious - Olde Skool Artist *new video*

This is the first verse from a track I did with Ashwan entitled Old Skool Artist about 10 years ago. It was basically a battle rap referencing famous artists - High brow, low brow need to learn though...

peaCe

WORDAMOUTH IS BACK!!

More details soon, but after a long summer break WORDAMOUTH is back at a new venue in Old Street, bringing midweek party poetry vibes to all comers. Come and join us at the newly refurbished Bedroom Bar (63 Rivington Street) for the best in spoken word, storytelling, MCing, beatboxing, freestyling...you name it, we've got it! All backed by sick DJs spinning hiphop and eclectic breaks from beyond the crate. Simply put: WORDAMOUTH IS BACK!!*

*Start talking!!

The robots are coming...

Well, it would seem that when voting, protest, poetry and music fail to change the tide of returning right-wing/dickhead (Tory/Lib Dem respectively) politics; our last chance for freedom might just be this pair of satirical robots, created by Giles Walker. Check out more of their views at "Now's the time", a new exhibition of post-graffiti (don't!) /streetart works by some really big and expensive names, including Jean Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Shepard Fairey, Swoon, Barry McGee, Faile, Os Gemeos and one very elusive gift shop owner. Prints will almost definitely make up the bulk of this show and turn the most coin. Personally, I'm getting a little tired of graffiti's rich relative's polite conversations, but at least they're still trying to speak.

The show is on now at The Black Rat Press - Rivington Street, London. EC2A 3AY

So fresh, so clean

It's not often that graffiti is described as an act of environmentalism, but, apart from the wack title, 'reverse graffiti' is just that. Created by cleaning the dirt of city surfaces, this is not what the authorities hope for when they tell writers to clean up their acts and do something useful for society - careful what you wish for...

CURIO - END OF DAYS

CURIO ends today! Following a successful week-long run at Digbyland Studios, I am taking the work down and shipping it back to North-Weezy. If you are around Hackney today and want to catch a last look at the show or pick up a very reasonably priced Xmas gift, pass by:

Unit1 Digbyland Studios

Digby Road

London

E9 6HX

All paintings are priced between £25-£350, so it's big art for small fees.

Big up to everyone that made it down this week.

Look out for more CURIOs in 2010...

peaCe