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UK #HipHopEd Seminar 4: Keepin it Real"? - Authenticity, Race, Gender and Hip-Hop Education in the UK.

Curious snapshots from the first 4 UK #HipHopEd Seminars.

Each Uk HipHopEd seminar has had a different energy brought to the room due to the subtly profound changes in dynamic that different people bring. Avoiding the obvious Barrington Levy puns, a hallmark of the seminars to date, is that the range and depth of the debated topics have been both broad and deep. Each day existing as an example of academic cyphering that is as authentically hiphop as it is academic. However, despite the breadth and depth, each has distinct characteristics and uniquely defining moments that leave snapshots in the mind to be recalled like cerebral backdrops to future conversations and reflections. Here are my snapshots from the first 4 #UkHipHopEd seminars...

SEMINAR ONE

The first seminars energy came mostly from the newness of it all. The journey from the Twitter timeline to the Institute of Education seminar suite was a short and fast one. The potential in the room was palpable; teachers, youth workers, poets, academics, film makers, photographers occupying every seat. @rapclassroon (Darren Chetty) continued the natural leadership that had driven the original chats and hosted a day of performance, presentation, discussion and debate with a bit of live Skype to manage also! Amongst the eruditus and empowered eloquence (*strikes B-boy pose), the snapshot moment of the day will remain (in my mind at least,) that of the newly-formed group, forged into union, huddled diminutively, waving goodbye under the widescreen-projected god-head of Prof. Chris Emdin, at the end of our Skype chat; bridging LDN and NY's physical and educational divides in a supportive and inspiring way. The connection to the 'parent' movement gave a sense of authenticity and validity to this initial meeting of artist/teacher tweeters and the mythic retelling of how the US HipHopEd movement successfully and sustainably opened 2 Hiphop schools in the motherland of rap was inspiring. The spirit of reverence was apt. Onward towards a manifesto...

Additional Reading:

http://rapclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/uk-hiphoped.html

SEMINAR TWO
Seminar 2 should have been simple. Repeat a proven formula with a few different people and new themes. Enter Shay D. Female Iranian rapper with the Lyrically Challenged hiphop collective and hiphop workshop leader. Shay D brought a passion to the proceedings. She participated confidently and challenged some of the ideas about race and representation in the room vigorously. The snapshot moment of Shay D and Chris Mentalist going toe to toe (chair to chair), battling over a disputed comment; with the rest of the room either scrambling to defuse the tension or sitting back waiting for the storm to die down will remain the defining and most hiphop moment of the day, and stand as testimony to the belief and passion that exist within the HipHopEd movement; and like true battle MCs it was all love afterwards. This is not a snapshot of the movement’s greatest success, rather one of its passion, honesty and ability to push the boundaries of both the academic discussion format, and the hiphop cypher (perhaps battle is more apt in this instance) and find resolutions that stays true to the spirit of HipHopEd. This is where ideas and beliefs are cogeneratively forged in the fires of disparate notions of discourse and decorum; but where reality and theory collide with experience and instinct. This is bumpy ground, but well worth the ride.

Additional reading:

http://rapclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/10-thoughts-after-2nd-uk-hiphoped.html

SEMINAR THREE

If Shay D brought a more contemporary hiphop voice to the room, Seminar 3 let Uk hiphop royalty in the building. TY has been delivering conscious hiphop to the UK hiphop scene since before people said 'conscious hiphop' and TY is used to working a crowd. Bridging the hiphop/ed gap was Poisonous Poet turned teacher Reveal and rapper/music teacher Awate. Further to the 'ed' side, Dr Patrick Turner from London Met led the day with a presentation that sparked the debate about racial representation and identity that dominated this seminar. Himself an ex-member of a hiphop crew, Patrick was joined by his teenage son. From my position, the young man had TY challenging and leading the discussion to one side and his father feeding the debate on the other. This image reminiscent of the angels and devils (but with a less polar opposition) of cartoon folklore brought 3 fundamental strands of the movement into one space - hiphop; the educator and the young learner. A perfect example of praxis? This was the theme of Seminar 3; that awkward and much misunderstood merging of theory and practice; education's version of circular breathing. The space where all that is said and thought is done. Where, where, will, won’t, what, why and how collide to form experiences that can be as beautifully chaotic and deceptively complex in their fluid expressions as sub-aquatic lava flows. HipHopEd is built for praxis.

Additional Reading:

http://unseenflirtspoetry.wordpress.com/2013/03/10/top-10-hiphoped-lightbulb-moments/

http://rapclassroom.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/3-criticisms-of-uk-hiphoped.html

http://artofcurious.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/the-hip-hop-stance.html

SEMINAR FOUR
Whether it was the choice of Gender as one of the 3 themes of Seminar 4 that encouraged or inspired  more women to attend (and maybe men to not?) is less important than the fact that there were more women at this seminar. The UkHipHopEd movement has never been exclusively male.  Kate Ryan's pivotal role in the original cohort of tweeters has provides the only ever-present female voice, but Shay D in seminar 2 and Anne from www.rapgenius.com in seminar 3 (amongst others) have ensured that there has been a strong and committed, plural female voice throughout. I don't know whether the participation of a larger number of women changed the debate or not, but it certainly felt more 'authentic' as a representation of educators (and humans) to have a larger female presence; if not yet, a more 'authentic' representation of hiphop.
Ironically, my snapshot of the day is not provided by one of the female participants, but instead it is the image of both genders watching a white neo-nazi rapper from Germany perpetuating every rap video cliché you saw perfectly parodied in The Roots, 'What They Do' video; and then debating it's authenticity as a representation of whiteness. A 25-strong debate about the rantings of a young white supremacist, living out his black rapper fantasy, isn't what I expected to be engaging with in a primary school hall on a warm and sunny Saturday, 3 days before the end of the academic year, but it is more useful than trolling comment boxes on YouTube for challenging such surreal and dangerous co-options of Hiphop culture.

Additional Reading:

http://createinnovateexplore.wordpress.com/2013/07/21/hiphoped-4-a-rewind-and-rethink/

SO WHAT CHA SAYIN?!

The UkHipHopEd movement continues to build links between the sky high (and often pie in the sky) research of Hiphop academics; Hiphop educators working in schools (colleges, youth centres, theatres etc) and our young people, growing up to a Hiphop soundtrack in an ever- shifting capitalist landscape, where reality and authenticity are hard to pin down, but where creativity and knowledge are 'hard currency' for 'growth'. You can only win the game you're playing and all games have rules. All rules can be broken. Break rules.

This movement is ready for your surprises.

Can't wait, won’t wait for Seminar 5.

peaCe

Links:

Reveal Blog

Ty Music

Shay D Music

Rapclassroom Blog

Kate Ryan's Blog

Poetcurious Blog

Uk HipHopEd on Radio 1Xtra

O.D.B.J.D.R.I.P.

It's a strange one this, cos, aside from the slight reduction in corniness and the undoubtedly sicker raps and beats (by Dilla), Ason Jones, isn't too far removed from Puff's ode to B.I.G. (and Sting one day soon too, please). Now the debate's open over the appropriateness of commercially released 'personal' messages. I mean, Puff could afford a hell of a lot of grief counselling with that Missing You, money!

What's not up for debate is the loss to hiphop that ODB's untimely death caused. If not for his bars at that time, certainly for his character, personality and controversy. ODB was hiphop made flesh, warts, crack-pipes and all. Its probably fair to say that his best work was well done by the time he passed, but, his death touched a lot of people, and maybe that justifies a public tribute in itself. O.D.B.J.D.R.I.P.

Stig Of The Dump - I Got Game - ME TOO!

This track from Stig arrived in my email inbox from a promotions company with the attached message:

I Got Game [CLEAN EDIT] - PLEASE DO NOT BLOG OR BOOTLEG - SUPPORT THE ARTIST and LABEL.

So, if you're really down with hiphop, skip this post or buy the track on itunes and just read the text from this post while listening to your purchased version in your favourite (AppleTM) media player. That's real hiphop love fam...

...or is it? No, it is not. Now, I've met Stig a few times and we have mutual friends in Newcastle so I want to support him as an artist. I know he's got crazy rhyming ability and, in a battle, he will eat you alive (pun intended)!

However, if I'd bought this track without hearing it (like most of my record collection), I'd be whinging about the lack of depth to the production; the predictable subject matter; the lack of battle adrenalin and the general lack of originality I feel this track suffers from. But, as I received this track free to my email, I want to blog it and raise awareness of it in support of a rapper I want to see do well. I mean, it's a decent track. Good lyrics and delivery; tight concept; querky production but enough headnod to get keep you in the groove etc etc etc - the medium is the massage as Marshall McLuhan once banged on about confusingly

See, the nature by which we acquire music and the contract we enter into when purchasing it has been too long abused by record industry executives, managers, promoters, publicists and artists (through their collusion) for anyone to trust a product based solely on its PR.

Supporting artists and supporting labels are not the same thing. Denying public access and trialing of an experiential product such as music cannot be seen as supporting artists. raising public awareness; facilitating healthy debate, constructive critique and honest reviewing may lead to an informed investment in support of an artists creative endeavours.

This public relationship between artist and audience prior to investment could force the hand of the record companies to do the job they have been shirking for too long - to source, develop, produce and release the best music being made. This would hopefully give artists the motivation to lay off on the Autotune and stripper raps and put some creativity into their work. This approach aims at sustaining artists longevity, for your future enjoyment and subsequent re-investment, as well as reinvigorating the development of new talent. To me, that seems more supportive than the average promotions company approach of trying to get as many people to buy one piece of well-marketed shit before everyone buys another piece of equally well-marketed shit instead. We have been there, the only difference is that you don't have to traipse around Soho (or wherever) in the rain to do it. This second approach can only serve the interests of the promotions company eager to secure future trade by wowing label owners and execs with impressive sales figures for their roster of artists with little regard for the sustenance of those artists or their careers after the campaign has ended.

The Cool Kids - Tacklebox *PAUSE*

Curious&Ashwan-Damn Liar *NEW*

After a lengthy gap while we were handling 'bidnezz' and getting our 'kid game' in order; here's some newness from myself and scouse beat vandal ASHWAN. This a technically a mash-up of one of my spoken word pieces; a beat from another Ashwan project and the first verse I ever recorded with Ashwan (and Swindelli). The result is more consistent than the elements suggest.

No more playin', this is front-line, war time...

The Mask and the Moustache

They Say:

In 2006, during a stint out west to promote his then new movie, Sacha Cohen, (aka Borat) met Daniel Dumile, better known as Zev Love X, or MF DOOM. Their blazing freestyle ciphers and mutual love of Purple Kush led to an impromptu recording of Doom’s ‘My Favorite Ladies’ verses (see Herbalisers’ Something Wicked…album) over a beat Borat had made back in ’05 with Kulki Boolchek, a Khazak producer. Later that year Doom ventured east, and recorded three more gems with Cohen at the castle of Rudolf II in Prague, renowned for its stone acoustics. DigDug bought the master off a based-out gypsy in East Oakland and the rest is history!

**Please FREELY DOWNLOAD THESE GEMS**, as they have been labeled ‘Degenerate Music’ by the Putin administration and the whole album is banned in the greater East. Censorship will never extinguish true heat!

I Say:

I just had to post this cos it's late at night and I need some evidence that I didn't dream it all up. MF Borat - f@#King genius.

BangBangBang

MNDR (aka Amanda Warner) features with Q-Tip on this cut, Bang Bang Bang from Mark Ronson's upcoming album Record Collection, dropping in September:

The Roots - Dear God 2.0 - DOWNLOAD

First single off The Roots new album, How I Got Over.

This is due to drop 22nd June.

Download it here.

New Skool, Old Skool, get to know.

Renell Shaw is one of the most unassuming and rawly talented artists picking the lock of London's tight-knit musical heritage. A new school boy, bringin' old school back, Renell already has an impressive CV, having worked with Orphy Robinson, Soweto Kinch, Nitin Sawhney and The London Philharmonic Orchestra and the London Student Symphony Orchestra, as well as performing with his band Descendants of a Quest.

I was lucky to work with Renell and fellow descendant Yao on a schools project in Hackney. They were inspiring characters and mature ambassadors for their craft. Check out the rest of the tracks on SoundCloud.

01 Whats My Name (featuring Kaz Hussain) by Renellshaw

02 Death And Taxes (featuring Orphy Robinson) by Renellshaw

The Welfare Poets: Warn Them (video)

The Welfare Poets with MC Rayzer Sharp drop conscious with some mad tricky word play. I like how Rayzer's E40-esque delivery mirrors the urgency of this piece of social hiphop poetry...

UK - Go hard!

Saw this clip of Jargon on DJGone and it got me thinking about how many sick British MCs there are. Below are some of my favourites...

JARGON

Chester P

Mystro

Skinnyman

Jehst

Supa T

...shout to Dialect, Chattabox, Ken masters,M.Dot Rich and dem man dat know they hot on the mic too. peaCe

Dephect's welcome...

They Say: Founded by friends from London in 1999, Dephect is a product of the lifestyle and culture that has inspired us over the last decade. Growing up as skaters and listening to Hip Hop in the early 90’s paved our way for a love of underground art, music and sport, and a passion for drawing, painting and graphic design. While remaining under the radar of the masses, Dephect is now an international brand in its own right, progressing via graphic collaborations with unknown and established artists alike.

I Say: I've seen these guys stuff popping up on sites for a few years but I've only recently got on it with this brand. Their website is mad cool with loads of video and music downloads. They are always dashing out discount codes for the mailing list and they are super reliable, fast and friendly -

I like Dephect - so should you!

shout to Chris P Cuts - check his mix on the website...peaCe

Guilty!

Lemme hear you say K-OS...

They say that music moves on 20 year cycles, in and out of vogue and relevance. That would explain the shallow fascination with the decade that brought us Britain's first reptilian prime minister; a proper recession; rioting in the streets; social inequality and 'problems that our kids will have to solve'. Well kids, put the problem-solving away for a minute, in, 4, 3, 2, 1...

BOOM! It's 2010 fools and that means - The 90's are coming!!!!

K-OS seem to have realised that earlier than most in this release from last year. It's got those 90's R&B swinging drums, that were ripped from classic hip-hop tracks by the likes of Puffy and JD (having already been ripped from classic soul tracks by the likes of every hip-hop producer EVER!) while remaining raw and honest. I like this - BUT - I am 35 years old!! - link?

peaCe

Share and share alike...

...that's the spirit, right?

The Sore Losers clearly agree as they offer their album of experimental head-nodders as a free download for all the freeness freaks. Straight out of Dallas, Texas and doing things the right way, Free Loaders:The Soundtrack is their debut release; cop it while its hot (and free!)

Far from Humdrum - Theophilus London

Just come across this guy on Babelgum:

Brooklyn-based hiphop poet and rapper, Theophilus London's raw blend of live electronica; pencil-sharp delivery and that geek-chic street intellectual honesty, make him an interesting commodity. Check out this promo, shot in the woods in Pennsylvania, where Theophilus grew up. It's a very different version of Humdrum Town to the on you can download for free from his label:

www.greenlabelsound.com

(Funk) in your trunk...

If you are around London this summer, try and get down to Green Park to check out my man Ashwan's submission for Elephant Parade London 2010.

Elephant what? (I hear you say):

Elephant Parade is a conservation campaign that shines a multi-coloured spotlight on the urgent crisis faced by the endangered Asian elephant. Brought to you by www.elephantfamily.org, the event sees over 250 brightly painted life-size elephants located over central London this summer.

- Ashwan spent a few days in earlier in the year painting Harry (as my daughters named him!) in my garage and on my driveway. It turned plenty of heads and broke the ice for more conversations with my local community and neighbours than is usual in North-West London. It was a treat to see it come to being; from arriving as a white cast to leaving as a "...In Your Trunk, Turn The Bass Up"; a funky-ass piece of hip-hop painting/sculpture, destined to bomb one of the Queen's gardens - now that's gettin' up!

When you find it, look close for the curious tag nestled between the layers - props for that Ash!

Check the method:

peaCe

And the winner is...CURIOUS (ya dun know)

Yeah that's right, I am officially the Hammer&Tongue London slam champion.

It was a close thing at times but I new all that stubborn, competitive arrogance would pay off one day.

The night was absolutely rammed, so respect to every one that came and represented for me and the other poets. There was some mad talent on show and I now realise I have a lot of writing to do before this summer's National Finals (hopefully at the South Bank in that London)

Big shout to Angry Sam and Sophia Blackwell for hosting my boastings and to Steve Larkin for coming up with the whole Hammer&Tongue idea. Mostly though, big love to all the competitors - you got murked!!!

In celebration I'm posting this vid that my man Ashwan put together for a track he produced - Age of Curiousity... peaCe

Finally, it's happening to me...

Represent y'all, represent...

Hammer&Tongue London slam finals are tonight at the Green Note Cafe on Parkway in Camden. Doors open at 7pm. Tax is £3/5.

Come help me win!