- Project Coordinator; Sylvester Kabombo
- Email: hiphop [at] bayimba [dot] org
INTRODUCTION
On the 14th of March 2011, Bayimba Cultural Foundation kicked off the 2 weeks Youth & Hiphop Project skills workshops that ended on 25th March in Jinja town. The workshops started at Brisk Recreation former Hotel Triangle, Jinja, which later shifted to St Jude Training Centre, Bell Avenue due to unavoidable circumstances. This skills workshop was beyond just being able to hold a microphone or dance, and included other basics that an artist needs to acquire when starting up his/her career. Or in other words, the skills needed by an upcoming artist to self promote him/herself and these included CV, Proposal, Profile/Biography Writing, Introduction to Production, Artistic Expression & Leadership Skills. We covered all the Hiphop elements namely; Graffiti, Rap, Deejaying & B-boying, and other sub elements like Hiphop fashion, Street Knowledge, Poetry etc. The workshops attracted over 40 participants from Jinja and nearby towns like Mbiko, Bugembe & Bukaya.
Upcoming Workshops
- Youth and Hip Hop Workshop Arua – 18th till 29th April 2011
- Youth and Hip Hop Workshop Gulu – 16th till 27th May 2011
- Youth and Hip Hop Workshop Mbarara – 14th till 24th June 2011
- Youth and Hip Hop Workshop Mbale – 18th till 29th July 2011
- Hip Hop conferences in Kampala – August 2011
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Youths & Hip Hop project, is a 3 years skills project that was drawn by the Danish Centre for Cultural & Development, funded by the Royal Danish Embassy, and run by Bayimba Cultural Foundation as its implementers. It covers 6 regions of Uganda that Bayimba Cultural Foundation covers. The aims of this project is to improve and bridge the socio-cultural and economic gap between youths in Uganda. The youths will be supported to acquire arts as well as development and leadership skills that can enhance socio-cultural and economic transformation across diversities.
OBJECTIVES
- To continue to organize regular hiphop activities for youngsters in Kampala and Gulu.
- To start organizing hiphop activities in selected other regions (Mbarara, Mbale, Jinja & Arua.
- To build leadership skills and self-esteem of the youths.
- To showcase hiphop talent at regular events/festivals.
- To connect youths within Uganda and with the wider world.
- To make collaborations between performing artists from different regions.
- To develop innovations amongst young people.
- To generate employment opportunities for youngsters.
- To enhance career chances of talented young hiphop artists.
METHODS OF TEACHING
- Group Discussion
- Lectures
- Practicals
CV, Poetry, Profile & Proposal Writing: These 3 were conducted throughout the whole 2 weeks of the workshop, and this was done to assess their daily level of progress. Among the 40 participants, few had an idea of structuring any of the above or their importance. By the end of the 2 weeks, all the participants had acquired the knowledge/skill.
Breakdance, Rap, Graffiti & Deejaying before the start of the workshops, and this was evident at the festival when the above elements unlike deejaying were showcased.
LIST OF TUTORS
Kaz Kasozi (Music Director)
In the 2 weeks;
- Imparting of skills in CV and Profile writing.
- Introduction to Live Performance/Collaboration with the traditional group.
- Songwriting (form & structure).
- Stage Management/Production
- Conducted the Feedback & Socratic sessions.
Joseph Mbida (Ghetto Gourmet, Tutor)
In the 1st week ;
- Making the beat (An Introduction to Beat Production).
- History of the Beat
- Elements of a Hiphop Beat.
- Beat Production.
- Voice Warm Up Techniques.
- Voice Projection & Microphone Techniques.
- Conducted the Cyphers and Socratic sessions.
Yasin Bamulumba a.k.a. Jungle Omusoga (Rapper/Poet) or Ugly Emcee
In the 2 weeks
- Introduction to Rap and Poetry; The use of language and vocabulary.
- Poetry into Rap.
- Rap Delivery in Practice.
- Song Writing Analysis
- Live Performance Skills. (Song Practice)
- Stage Management/Production
- Conducted a Cypher.
Faizal Kiwewa (Director, Bayimba Cultural Foundation)
In the 2 weeks;
- Imparting of Skills (Introduction to Proposal Writing).
- Form and structure.
- Research
- Setting the target
- Making a case
- Target outputs
- Target outcomes
- Benefits
Babaluku Silas (Rapper/Founder, Bavubuka Foundation)
In the 2 weeks;
- Introduction to Hiphop Elements/History;
Breakdance, Graffiti, Rap and Deejaying. And Sub-elements like Hiphop Fashion/Branding, Street Knowledge, Poetry & Beat Boxing. - Positive/negative effect of the Hiphop culture to our communities.
- Importance of a Business Mind to a Hiphop artist.
- Artistic Expression/Art of Public Speaking.
- Conducted a feedback and Socratic sessions.
B-Boy Justus (Breakdancer)
In the 2 weeks;
- Introduction to break dancing/history
- Basic break dance moves like 6 step & top rock. (The rest of the dance is founded around these 2 moves.)
- Stretching Techniques
- Break dance in practical
- Identifying break dance with our communities. (Importance of Breakdance to our communities.)
- Together with his team, he created a dance routine that was showcased at the festival.
Imran Azad (Grafitti)
In the 2 weeks, he taught the following;
- History of Graffiti
- Introduction to Sketching techniques
- Positive & negative effect of Graffiti to society.
- Perspective & types of drawing views;
