Re: Definition

Hip-hopping into a new era.

By Sarah Allen

Focusing on hip-hop’s four main elements, LS2 investigates the space occupied by some of Leeds’ finest DJs, MCs, b-boys and graffiti artists in a bid to discover whether the culture’s apparent institutionalisation weakens the ground on which it stands.

“Urban’, “black’, “street’—call it what you will.  Seriously, go right ahead.  Knock yourself out.  Those in the hip-hop business are too busy keeping their ears to the ground to take note of any in vogue terms you use to describe how they roll. Listening out for the freshest cuts to drop, they wait with bated breath, ready to punctuate the track with a brand of lyrical and visual stylings that’ll well and truly knock you for six.  Real artists don’t care much for labels; record deals doth not a mind-blowing musician make; mindless tagging doth not a groundbreaking graffiti artist make; pristine Pumas doth not a battle-worthy b-boy make.

The need to accommodate hip-hop culture linguistically reflects wider geographical change, however.  Over the summer, we witnessed BMXers performing in the Beijing Olympics, graffiti art being tattooed over the exterior of the Tate Modern and the world’s first free-running championships being held on UK soil.  This so-called “street’ culture is moving indoors; the institution’s putting a roof over its head - even if it is little more than the garden shed - and its new neighbours in the art galleries, universities and sporting stages of the world can no longer call for the imposition of an anti-social behaviour order.  Esteemed for its history of tolerance towards other genres, it’s about time the hip-hop scene reaped some long overdue karmic repayments.

DJing and MCing

The Leeds music scene first took off in the early “90s with the emergence of Low-Life records in 1992, an independent label that highlighted regional talent such as Braintax and local hip-hop collective Breaking the Illusion.  In spite of the label’s relocation to London - a danger well-versed by many I spoke to- the Leeds scene has gained a steady rise in popularity over recent years, especially at Leeds University itself.

Tom “DJ Snafu’ Rigby, a third-year Politics and Asia Pacific Studies student at Leeds, has been at the helm of LSR.fm’s flagship hip-hop radio show “How We Do’ for the past three years.  Running on Wednesday nights from 6.30pm to 9pm, the show prides itself on finding the freshest talent on the UK hip-hop scene, and has played host to a number of big local names such as Kidkanevil, Jehst and Jack Flash.  A purist at heart, Tom admits that at times it is inevitable for the show to encompass other musical genres such as soul, funk, dubstep and drum n bass, since boundaries are rarely clear-cut when it comes to defining the essence of hip-hop music.

In the four years that the show’s been running, Tom has noticed a steady rise in support, and has even hosted charity fundraising events at LUU venue Mine as part of the “Love Music Hate Racism’ campaign.  Speaking of the surge in popularity, Tom says, “Most shows only run for a term on LSR.fm, but the fact that “How We Do’ is now entering its fourth year means that it’s a staple part of the station.  We are now in a position where artists approach us.”  Indeed, the only obstacle it has faced is censorship, since many of the artists interviewed on the show can be quite explicit in thei

r language.  On the whole, however, he says that LSR.fm have been reasonable and expressed tolerance towards this aspect of the hip-hop culture, since it in no way defines the quality of the material being produced.

As well as establishing a firm presence on the airwaves, the Leeds hip-hop scene has also claimed some much-needed cyberspace of late, with Leeds locals Adam Young and Chris Dyson setting up the website “leedshiphop.co.uk’.  They started the site two years ago, when they noticed a niche in the existing online market.  “There were loads of indie sites, rock sites—even ones for drum n bass—”, explains Dyson, “—but there was nothing really out there for hip-hop, so we created this site with a simple vision in mind”.  This claim to virtual space speaks volumes because it indicates that the Leeds hip-hop scene is permeating every type of media.  Most importantly, this means it’s getting its voice out there.

Gus “MC Gusto’ Vickery is all about the vocals.  A Leeds-based MC with roots in hip-hop, his talent is mostly centred around drum n bass these days but he has a firm understanding of the hip-hop culture from which it takes influence.  He speaks highly of the Leeds scene, with its well-behaved, solid fanbase and a host of club nights, including several at Leeds University Union.  As a former student, he views the University as being highly accommodating towards the “urban’ scene.

A concern raised by Gusto and many of those I spoke with, however, is the seasonal variation evident on the Leeds hip-hop scene.  Consisting largely of what Gusto terms a “transient” student population, the scene suffers a decline in the summer months.  This is viewed by the majority as unavoidable and whilst it is not unique to the hip-hop scene, it forms part of what makes Leeds such a special place to cultivate hip-hop roots, since it means there’s a wealthy bedrock of fertile soil during the academic year.

Check out “How We Do’ on LSR.fm, Wednesdays 6.30pm-9pm
For more information on the Leeds hip-hop scene, go to www.leedshiphop.co.uk
MC Gusto is performing at “Central Beatz’ at Leeds University Union this Saturday 11th October

Breaking

You’d expect LUU’s Breakdance Society to feel right at home at Leeds University by now.  After all, they’ve been knocking around on campus for over ten years.  Instead of turning up to a well-established venue for Monday night’s practice though, I found myself stood amongst its twenty-plus members in the reception of the union building while they hunted down a location in which to perform.  The quest for space is far from a new project for LUU’s Breakers.  Still fresh in many students’ minds is the protest “dance’ they staged during last year’s Union Referendum in a bid to set up permanent residency in The Refectory.  Although the motion was passed, it would seem that it’s yet to come into fruition.

Surprising, perhaps, that Breakdance Society are so driven towards finding an indoor practice space given that the movement began on the streets.  Performers would lay out a cardboard box on the floor and practice their moves al fresco.  Job done. With these roots in mind, you have to ask yourself if something is being lost when the movement ventures indoors.  I put this to Si Rawlinson, an English and Theatre Arts student at Leeds.  He said: “As long as you’re doing it for the right reasons, it doesn’t matter where you do it.” Those reasons don’t need to be made explicit; they’re evidenced in the passion and commitment shown by all that turn up to the Society’s practice, it’s written all over their bodies.

Charlotte Jennings, a fourth-year Medicine student, explained that breaking has a unique quality to it that sets it apart from other styles of “dance’-to use the term loosely.  She said: “There is no definitive hierarchy when it comes to breaking.  It’s obvious who the good ones are and you go and ask them for help.  This isn’t a formal, teacher-pupil sort of environment.”  One thing the Society prides itself on is the diversity of its members.  Its composition takes the form of both students and locals, of all ages, ranging from amateur to professional levels of ability.

17-year old Hau Lee Nguyen is one example of a Leeds resident that has benefited from the University opening its doors to breakdancers.  He first got involved on the scene thanks to a community-based project called “Breakers Unify’, run by b-boys Shane ‘10 tonn’ Fenton and Tony “T-Breaks’ Green.  The project was founded in 1998 and seeks to project a positive image of hip-hop culture onto Leeds youngsters, encouraging them to engage with the scene by way of education.  Hau is grateful to the project for helping him to channel his energy into something positive.  Put simply, breaking makes him feel “alive” in a way that simply listening to hip-hop music would fail to do.

Fenton and Green are also behind innovative Leeds club night “Fresh Jive’, which first started in 1997 as a weekly club night at The Faversham and following a four year hiatus, was re-launched in 2004.  Whilst entertainment is the main goal of nights such as these, they also allow for the concentration of talent under one roof and provide a creative hub for performance.  Beyond all else, the night promotes a space that allows for social inclusion.  In its own words, “Fresh Jive is the real Hip Hop deal - not a buy in.  We represent everyone from the streets to the students.”

LUU Breakdance Society can be found online at http://www.luubreaksoc.com/
Club Fresh Jive are also online at www.clubfreshjive.co.uk

Graffiti

“It is a global art form, culture and movement that is over thirty years old and should be treated as such.  It’s a two-way thing-the powers that be need to acknowledge and support the art form rather than stigmatise and over criminalise it.  Artists who wish for their art to be accommodated need to present themselves properly to these powers.”  This is how Cameron Bodie, organiser of Leeds-based club night “BestJoinedUp’, views the current interplay between the world of graffiti and how it is perceived by the powers that be in society.

Described by Bodie as “a little like Fight Club for dope artists”, “BestJoinedUp’ is held on a monthly basis at The Faversham in conjunction with Friday night mainstay New Bohemia.  Starting in November 2007, it adds to the existing club night formula by providing an additional room for artists to showcase their talents.  The ethos is simple: “—to make space, provide tools, lubricate creativity and have fun!” 

Whilst nights such as this allow for the coming together of artists to share equipment, skills and experience in a cutting edge atmosphere, there is a concern that its live, intoxicated quality somehow compromises the integrity and authenticity of the graffiti movement.  Surely paying to view the art being made inevitably means taking away some of the raw, shocking elements of guerrilla art.  On this, Bodie says, “The authenticity of “street’ art was compromised pretty much at the same time as it was classified as “street’ art.  A movement was identified, pigeonholed and commodified with one word.  I think it is too late to start worrying about it falling into the wrong hands.  Advertising, film, television, car manufacturers etc. all have their fingers in the “street’ art pie.”

With the notion of having to forcibly “make space” for “street’ art at the roots of “BestJoinedUp’s’ ethos, however, there is clearly still some scope for expansion on the part of genuine artists that have not sold out to multi-nationals and advertising campaigns.

Indeed, the club night’s welcoming embrace is not one shared by the community as a whole.  Whilst there is evidence of “street art’ of varying qualities on almost every street corner in Hyde Park, Leeds City Council’s bottom line is non-negotiable: “We operate a zero tolerance policy towards graffiti and anyone caught in the act will be prosecuted for criminal damage.”  This hard-line approach is often diluted by popular myth.  Such is the case with rumours about a so-called “legal graffiti wall’ behind the site of the derelict Royal Park Primary School.  The wall is a hotspot for local artists; no part of it has been left untouched by their efforts.  Popularity does not equate to legality, however, and the only reason that the graffiti is yet to be removed is because the council is in the process of selling the site and is unwilling to invest time and resources in speculative property.

For more information on BestJoinedUp, check out www.myspace.com/bestjoinedup or www.bestjoinedup.com
With the authorities taking such a firm stance against one of the constituent elements of hip-hop culture, the battleground is yet to be won, but hip-hop has certainly managed to get a firm foot in the door like never before.  The brainchildren of the industry’s collaborative intercourse have enjoyed a healthy infancy in Leeds and are fast approaching adolescence-with a feisty teenage attitude to boot.  Yes, the hip-hop family may be booming, but don’t expect them to be settling down in suburbia and signing themselves up for a mortgage any time soon.