This festival has been conceptualised as an alternative yet relevant platform to celebrate Youth Day in a contemporary form. TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVAL© is a 3-city tour that will take place in Johannesburg, Cape Town & Durban. The festival will serve to entertain and educate the youth.

Read on…The youth have always been the engine of all revolutions and in the same spirit of the youth of 1976; this festival aims to fire the engine of a new revolution. The youth today is faced with different struggle in the information-era. The struggle is to breed a culture of socially conscious youths who will become responsible adults.

The TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVAL© will celebrate Hip hop and youth culture through performances featuring artists and guests who represent the pinnacle of artistic expression from South Africa (SA), the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Unlike most popular common events, this festival will present renowned artists for their lyrical prowess, socially relevant content, riveting performances and underground/cult appeal – in the spirit of the revolution.

Hip Hop has become one of the most powerful mediums to communicate to the urban youth today. Each of the artists participating in the festival has been carefully selected because they represent an authentic voice that reflects the mind state of the global citizen of today. The TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVAL© will feature 3 headlining acts:

BEN SHARPA – SOUTH AFRICA

Born in the ghetto slums of Soweto, Ben Sharpa has built himself as a premiere figure in the Underground Hip Hop scene all over South Africa. Recognised as a veteran in Hip Hop, Ben Sharpa uses art as a medium of expression in the areas of social awareness, creativity and street life in general. He has travelled the world and toured London, sharing a stage with artists such as Immortal Technique (June 2005), Jonzi D (June 2003), Black Thought from the critically acclaimed Hip Hop band The Roots (August 2001), Mr. Len and Jean Grae (May 2001). Locally Ben Sharpa has toured all over the country. In 2003, he won a nation-wide freestyle battle competition, sponsored by MTN. This not only gave him exposure and notoriety country-wide, but also won him an opportunity to go to London to meet Eminem.

WORDSWORTH – UNITED STATES

As his name suggests, Brooklyn-bred microphone fiend Wordsworth is the epitome of a true Hip Hop wordsmith. This Lyricist Lounge All-Star is looking to the past to reinvigorate the present by recalling the essence of 1994 – when the beats were hard and emcees talked to listeners rather than at them about relevant topics they could relate to. This graduate of the State University of New York’s Old Westbury campus, Wordsworth became a distinguished member of the student body population by penning all of his papers and writing assignments in lyrical verse. After commanding the stage at a Lyricist Lounge showcase in 1997, event host Q-Tip was so impressed that he tapped Wordsworth to perform on “Rock Rock, Y’all,” the closing track on A Tribe Called Quest’s 1998 gold-certified album The Love Movement. He was also featured on Black Star’s “Twice Inna Lifetime. In addition to pursuing a career as a solo emcee and continuing to be featured on other artists’ albums, Wordsworth has parlayed the experience he gained from The Lyricist Lounge Show into a budding career both on and off-camera in film and television.

JONZI D – UNITED KINGDOM

Jonzi D has been actively involved in British Hip Hop culture. After graduating from The London Contemporary Dance School in ’92, he performed in Tel Aviv, and at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, US. As an MC and poet, Jonzi’s collaborators include ‘The Roots’, MC Mell’o’, DJ Pogo, The Young Disciples, Courtney Pine and Lenny Henry. He featured on the “One Hell of a Storm” poetry album and “The Rebirth of the Cool” compilation CD. TV credits include The South Bank Show¹s “Looking for the Perfect Beat”, and “Different Voices”, part of the ‘Ba Ba Zee’, BBC’s Channel 4. Jonzi has performed his work all over Europe, Southern Africa and America, along with educational programs in youth centres, prisons and schools including Howard University DC, and LCDS. He has been commissioned to create work with Phoenix Dance, Soweto Dance Theatre, as well as the “40 Degrees” fashion show at Earls Court.

JOHANNESBURG – 15 JUNE

Venue:
Bassline

Time:
18h00 – Late

Stage Warmers:
Concentration Camp
Groundworks
Gini Grinith
DJ Bionic
DJ Sistamatic (Tumi)
DJ D-Uniq (Dominique)
DJ Raiko

Main Acts:
Ben Sharpa (SA)
Wordsworth (US)
Jonzi D (UK)

CAPE TOWN – 16 JUNE

Venue:
Cape Town Convention Centre

Time:
18h00 – Late

Stage Warmers:
Archetypes
Driemanskaap
Writers Block
Fungus
DJ Ready D & Full Contact
DJ 4 Most
DJ Big Dre
DJ D-Uniq (Dominique)

Main Acts:
Ben Sharpa (SA)
Wordsworth (US)
Jonzi D (UK)

DURBAN – 17 JUNE

Venue:
Currier Fountain, DIT

Time:
18h00 – Late

Stage Warmers:
To be announced

Main Acts:
Ben Sharpa (SA)
Wordsworth (US)
Jonzi D (UK)

For more information regarding the TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVAL©, scheduling interviews, TV appearances, artist reviews etc, please contact:

Ms. Tracy September
Tel: + 27 72 613 9620
Email: tseptamber@gmail.com

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