Hip-Hop has truly traveled far and wide in our country. More and more people have also been made aware of the culture and the results are carving their way into the circle of artists involved. We have seen a stable and certain rise in the people tuning in to listen to our music. One small example of this scenario is the recent Hip-Hop event that was hosted at the Mahatma Gandhi – Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad.
The iconic place has also been home to a movement that led to the freedom of India. To see that a few folks from the rising Hip-Hop community were invited to the historic place to host a workshop and perform for the kids there was just an amazing feat. The Ashram also hosts and teaches the kids arts and crafts and also gives basic education and meals to them.
Hip-Hop Alive
A heavily volunteered movement goes on at the Ashram. With people from all around the world coming there to volunteer and transfer knowledge to the kids. From the Hip-Hop scene two emcees – Poetik Justis & Dee MC were chosen to represent the music. They were joined by master producer HHB (Mumbai) and beatboxer BeatRaw from the Bombay Lokal collective.
The event was also preceded by a short trip to one of Ahmedabad’s largest slum areas where the organisations have built a Gujarati-medium school. The school hosts around 150-200 children and the best part is that it focuses heavily on moral education and good values rather than just a formal education.
Workshop And Performances
The workshop consisted of the emcees stressing on the importance of knowledge as an element of Hip-Hop. They focused on the value of education above all else. The emcees also gave them some tips on the art of rap. And also shared with the kids some of the history of Hip-Hop. BeatRaw held it down teaching the kids some basic beatboxing to get them started. HHB held the workshop by letting the kids create music on his workstation. The performance saw around 100 kids enjoying and dancing to all their tunes. It is also small movements like these that make a scene grow and flourish far and wide! Long Live Desi Hip-Hop!