Are you an aspiring hip hop artist? Do you love break dancing? Have you always wanted to be a rapper, but you don’t know where to start?

Applications are now open for young people aged 15-25 to take place in the from 26 – 28 July 2019 at Theatre Works.

The ST KILDA YOUTH HIP HOP FESTIVAL will provide young artists the opportunity to work with professional mentors to create exciting, new works. The program will give new and mid-career hip hop artists the chance to build their skills in the fields of breakdancing, DanceScratch recording, DJing, rap, song composition, spoken word, poetry, and much more!

The Festival will also consist of Q&A panels with key people in the arts industry, allowing young people to ask the questions that they’ve always wanted to have answered about a career in hip hop.

Through creating art, the Festival aims to empower young artist to find their voice, discover new passions and meet other people in the industry.


MEET THE MENTORS

TITAN DEBIRIOUN
Social-activist, Rapper and Music curator Titan Debirioun, has been producing fierce Melbourne hip-hop. Working within the Sudanese and communities at large Titan creates funky political conscious Hip Hop, paving the way for black and indigenous artists in Australia.

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CANDY BOWERS
Candy Bowers is an award-winning writer, actor, social-activist, comedian and producer. The co-artistic director of Black Honey Company, Candy has pioneered a fierce subgenre of hip hop theatre that delves into the heart of radical feminist dreaming.

Candy is currently working on her first feature film with ArenaMedia, an anthology of Australian monologues for Actors of Colour called EVERYBODY ELSE, Twelve – a soul musical from the streets (after Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night) and One the Bear – a fairytale for the hip hop generation heading to the Arts Centre Melbourne and Sydney Opera House in 2019.

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SISTA ZAI
Sista Zai is a storyteller, educator and radio producer. She founded Stillwaters Storytelling Collective in 2011, a platform for Black women who write. Her latest project is the Pan Afrikan Poets Cafe, which she hosts and curates. Audiences at the Pan Afrikan Poets Cafe have been spoiled by over 100 performances by African and First Nations storytellers with headliners such as Australia’s Candy Bower’s, the London’s queen of theater and spoken word, Kat Francois and NYC’s queen of slam poetry, Mahogany L Browne. On Sundays, catch Sista Zai playing tunes on the Hip Sista Hop show on 3CR 855AM.

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JOE SNOW
Rapper Joe Snow, originally from Leeds UK, has spent the past few year in working as a graffiti artist mentor working with Youth as well linking up with local Melbourne producers on new music with local artists like Must Volkoff, U Wish, Able 8 and Sinks. After a hand full of successful albums with his home crew Defenders Of Style this will be Joe’s second solo release. The 7 track EP features the likes of Lego, Datkid, Res One and Defender’s Of Style’s Prys, with production by Hashfinger, Must Volkoff, Able 8, U Wish, Sinks and Lego. Watch out for the visuals for ‘She Wish’ coming soon.

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PANG PRODUCTIONS
Pang Productions Australian hip hop artists have been working hard over the past few years to hone their skills and have been making some classic hip hop including some big releases from Must over the last year. Nelson Dialect has made the trip back to Australia after a recent European

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DAGOGO OBOGO
Dagogo Obogo was born in Nigeria on the west coast of Africa. Dagogo’s talents have taken him all over the world, teaching and performing in more than 15 countries. He has received wide acclaim for his show stopping talents including 2 times Couples Dance Champion and Runner Up in the Let’s Dance West Africa.

As an in demand and accomplished choreographer, Dagogo has choreographed and taught dance creative development classes in more than 50 schools and choreographed productions made up of more than 1,000 people for various carnivals, events and shows. His work has featured in numerous musical productions. Notorious for his creative choreography Dagogo’s strengths make him an incredibly inspiring and fun dance teacher. Dagogo always aims to make a student’s day just a little brighter. He always gets the best out of the students as he brings inspiration, drama, dance and oh so much personality.


THE WORKSHOPS

Rap, rap history and Music Production | TITAN DEBIRIOUN

Social-activist, Rapper and Music curator Titan Debirioun, will walk you through the history of Hip Hop teaching you the important key elements. This workshop combines performance, technology, composition, audio and industry skills to deliver a multifaceted music education.

· Gain comprehensive knowledge of Hip Hop
· Learn practical skills
· Collaborate and perform live
· Explore new and emerging music production techniques and technologies
· Master studio recording techniques
· Enhance songwriting, recording and performance skills
· Work with experienced artists

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Hip Hop and Theatre | CANDY BOWERS

She will help you explore a social issue of pressing importance. You will learn the basics of hip-hop theatre, dramatic structure, plot, and character. You will work independently and collectively to create hip hop poems, monologues, and scenes that explore the social realities of the issue through the experiences of yourselves and those you know. You will explore rhythm to accompany your words. You will create a collective hip hop piece that uses theatre to change the way they and other people think about social issues.

· Hip hop theatre improvisation
· Hip hop theatre writing
· Creating the script
· Music and flow
· Rehearsal and performance

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Spoken word | SISTA ZAI

Sista Zai is a storyteller, educator and radio producer and founded the Pan Afrikan Poets Café. This will be an explorative workshop of poetry, music, stories, magic. There are no strict time limits either and no judging involved. Sista Zai will facilitate meaningful dialogue and empower young people to find their voice. She will help guide you to transform your stories, weaving them together with myth and history to create your own spoken word poem using the elements of Hip Hop.

· Tell a Story, choose a subject and have attitude
· Flesh It Out and Pick your poetic devices.
· Read It Out Loud in a safe space and memorize
· Practice
· Power Poetry Performance

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Graffiti skills | JOE SNOW & PANG PRODUCTIONS

Graffiti is writing, or drawings made on a wall or other surface, usually as a form of artistic expression, without permission and within public view. [2][3] Graffiti ranges from simple written words to elaborate wall paintings.

Learn to use an aerosol can, design letters, paint your own piece and hear how the graffiti and street art movement started.

· Stencil Workshop
· Street art Demonstration
· Freehand spray painting
· Paste-up Art Street Art
· Create your very own mural for the City of Port Melbourne

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B-Boying & Dance | DAGOGO OBOGO

This exciting workshop will blend the worlds of Rap and Afrobeat. Afrobeat is a music genre which involves the combination of elements of West African musical styles. Breaking, also called breakdancing or b-boying/b-girling, is an athletic style of street dance.

This workshop aims to foster the development of dance skills for both experienced and inexperienced dancers. This highly motivational workshop aims to extend boys skills and encourage youth involvement in dance.

While diverse in the amount of variation available in the dance, this workshop will mainly consist of:

· Top rock
· Down rock
· Power moves
· Freezes
· Afro fusion: AZONTO, coupé décalé and more

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Rap and Music Production | RAWTHENTIC

Learn the production process from inception to finish.

· Learn practical skills and how to create
· Learn how to create your very on track
· Collaborate and perform live with technology
· Master studio recording techniques;
· Enhance songwriting, recording and performance skills;
· Work with experienced artists and professional equipment