Contact will be hosting a special one-day conference on Sunday 29 June 2008 - MCs For Life.
This unique celebration will include discussions, masterclasses, performance, films, and MC battles. It will explore changes in language and styles, from gangsta rap to spoken word, as well as the international distillation of rap into genres like Grime (London), Hip Life (Ghana), Hyphy (USA), Kuduro (Angola) and Kwaito (SAfrica).
The conference brings together some of the leading lights from the world of MC Culture, highlighting the breadth and international impact of the industry, including:
From the US: New York based producer Lord Finesse of DITC; Black Thought, the lead MC of Philadelphia-based Hip Hop group The Roots; DC born electronic and experimental hip hop musician DJ Spooky alongside performance poets Rich Medina and Ursula Rucker.
From South Africa:one of the best known exponents of South African Hip Hop Tumi; veteran rapper Ben Sharpa, Lebo Mashile the ‘IT’ girl of South African poetry and the highly acclaimed writer, poet and international performer Napo Masheane.
From the UK: London-based poet, producer and DJ Charlie Dark; leading UK hip hop artists Ty, and Stig of the Dump, spoken word griot TuggSTAR and Mancunian B-Boy Benji Reid amongst a host of others.
The conference will end with the opportunity for the audience to see the leading lights of Hip Hop demonstrate their art through ‘battles’ with local upcoming artists.
MCs For Life
Sunday 29 June 2008
Conference: 10:30am to 6:30pm
After Party: 7pm to midnight
Tickets: £8 (Conference only) / £12 (After Party only) / £15 (Conference & After Party)
