Stellwerk Hamburg German Hip Hop 10 years’ birthday party!

I filmed a few of the acts at the Stellwerk Hamburg German Hip Hop 10 years’ birthday party. But let me give you a bit of background about what Stellwerk Hamburg is and what was the night about.

In 2012, Stellwerk Hamburg began going through a deep-rooted transition from a jazz club to a subcultural center. Hip hop organisers have become like creative artists. Nevertheless, they never forgot their roots and have seen many beautiful concerts with U.S. rap acts, as well as with bands based here in their country. Corona has cashed in on their birthday party, but they still want to get something done in this post-Covid era!

Opening act DJ Play Dead at the Stellwerk Hamburg:

DJ Play Dead is a fixture in Hamburg’s turntable scene. The finest and rarest pieces of vinyl adorn his collection, and he is not too bad at scratching either. As part of the No Tv Raps Radio Show, you can listen to him frequently every first or third Friday of the month from 5-7 pm on FSK Radio.

I have also filmed the following acts at the Stellwerk Hamburg:

Aphroe (R.A.G./RAID) at the Stellwerk Hamburg:

“Aphroe is one of the key figures of the German hip-hop scene. Beginning his modest–but–influential career in the early 90s, when hip-hop jam culture was a big thing in Germany and all over Europe, Aphroe and his partner DJ Wiz (Beat Sampraz) formed the duo RAID.
In the mid-90s, RAID joined forces with fellow crew Filo Joes to form RAG – whose influence can still be felt today. “

One could compress it hastily and leave it there, but it would not be failing to understand its creative breadth. For the fans, the songs like “Silent Post”, Aphroe’s feature in the track “Zeitreise” (Time Travel) on the MC Rene release, or ‘Stratego’ under the “Unter Tage” LP, are Milestones in the History of German Rap.

In recent years there has also been a documentary release about “We almost lost Bochum” telling the history of R.A.G. and Aphroe’s new EP “Akribie”. The latter got very little visibility and was very little showcased on stage due to this annoying Covid virus!

You can follow him on Facebook if you would like to stay updated with his work!

Phaeb & DJ Free-kee:

Almost three years after the painful loss of band partner and friend dude26, the first solo LP of Phaeb is released with phonography. The pictures are exposed. Their memories emerge from the darkroom and get written. The album breathes a gentle melancholy in which the feeling of the Saudade of Portuguese Fado is combined with the wanderlust of early Afro-Futuristic trends.

Phaeb’s voice has depth and structure, creates closeness, and draws the listeners into a great story that spans the entire album length. The beats from the multi-instrumentalist and ‘Daily Concept’ label colleague IAMPAUL are the perfect musical framing for Phaebs’ associative visual language.

Nostalgic, timeless, grown-up – the phonography has been published on 18.12.2020 via ‘Daily Concept’.

Sherlock F:

Only in his early 30s and has already been infected by a hip hop bug for 20 years. He delivers a conscious rap on sample-based beats – no reinvented wheel, but it still reaches its goal.

In the meantime, Sherlock F., who can be found at any local freestyle sessions, also plans small explorations into garage grime realms and still plays for 3 days with a classical ensemble at Stellwerk Hamburg.

 

During the sherLockdown, there was no creative break, but new ways were explored. In his project “Beats, Rhymes and History” he now raps his way through streets and museums as a postcolonial cultural mediator. With his DJ Chris Cutwell from Club27, they have played for the last 2 years mainly open-air and at galas and both are happy to feel the sweat dripping from the ceiling again.

 

 

 

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Belgian Hip-Hop History Exhibition and Festival 2017 in Brussels

Belgian Hip-Hop History Exhibition

Before heading off for a few days in Brussels, Belgium, I did a bit of research about what was on during my stay. I fell upon the following PDF article from Bozar and visit.Brussels about a Belgian Hip-Hop History Exhibition and Festival 2017.

That article teased my curiosity and 👀 I decided to check Bozar’s website further. When you visit their homepage, you will be given the option to select between French (FR), English (EN) or Dutch (NL) languages before landing on the programme page.

If you are interested in Hip Hop history from the very beginnings in the USA to its export and expansion in Belgium, you’ll be enjoying this post!

The hip-hop festival organisers enabled online booking. Online ticket bookings entitled you to:

• a free coffee upon order of a pastry
• a free glass of wine or a meal.

However, if you were not around for that period of time, don’t worry, I will take you through the exhibition by sharing with you few pictures and videos. 😉 (I can’t talk about the other programmed events, though).

DANCE VIDEO TUTORIALS

When I entered the Centre for Fine Arts, there was a screen showing a b-boy doing few moves. It was also providing visitors with dance tutorials on basic b-boying steps. Take a look at some of the video snippets filmed with Snapchat!

 

 

DANCE COMPETITION

After that, I walked up the stairs to enter the exhibition area, which was a mix of audio, visuals, and videos explaining the hip-hop movement history. There was a big screen displaying a film of all world b-boying dance competitions.

HIP-HOP IN ALL ITS FORMS: MUSIC, ARTS AND DANCE

Then, the exhibition went through the hip-hop evolution in all its forms, i.e music, arts and dance.

Again, the exhibition was in French, Dutch, and English. Please note however that for some of the pieces, I couldn’t get the whole translated text in pictures.

Remember that you can pause each picture in the slideshow to read the information. You will find 2 short videos below this slideshow showcasing:

• B-girls dancing,
• Stromae singing
• Rab djing.

 

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At the very end of the exhibition, they had a 360 degrees screen showing different clips simultaneously.

I have recorded few bits of the main ones:

I hope you learnt a few things about the hip-hop evolution.

Any of you want to volunteer to translate into English the few pieces that do not have a translation?

 

 

 

 

Bluefire World Street Festival 2015 in Dublin (Ireland)

Some of you have asked me to share pictures and videos taken at the 2015  Bluefire World Festival.  Since there was a lot going on, I couldn’t film or photograph everything. But I hope you will enjoy these snippets of this lovely event!

If you have missed the event and aren’t aware of what Bluefire Street Festival is about and what they stand for, check out their website:

http://www.bluefiredublin.ie/

Now, time to showcase what went on at Bluefire. Have  a look at  these beautiful pictures of the different activities that happened on that day, namely:

• workshops,
• performances,
• market stalls and
• crafts, talks.

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Here is another part I found pretty interesting, the talks from founders of Ajo Arkestra band and Grangegorman squat:

Now, let’s move on to dance performances!

This is the last video from a musical performance on the main stage!

Finally, you can view the year 2017 festival edition here.

Music Competition for a Ford Dodge Dart advertising campaign

A good while ago I came across a music competition run on Ford’s Facebook fan page.

Although I wasn’t much interested in the car company, I still decided to enter the competition, in order to discover new artists and vote for my favourite ones.

The final winner was the one that had the highest voting counts received by fans during the competition. His/her music would then be advertised in a Ford advertising campaign.

In the voting process, I have been able to download free rn’b and hip hop tracks like DeShaude “Can’t Rush Love” and Saiah “V.I.P”. These can be found on Youtube or Itunes. Through MySpace, you can also listen to their playlists and also demand the artist to come and give a concert in your town!

So, while I haven’t continued liking the Ford page, I must say it was an effective way to promote new emerging artists. However, I’m very little convinced that Ford got much more than a short-term attention!

And you, have you discovered recently new artists through a similar campaign ? If so, share your experience with us!