Festival is a haven for hip-hop in Accra

Festival is a haven for homegrown hip-hop

The yoyo tinz festival – which celebrates hip-hop culture in Africa and is the first event of its kind in Ghana – returns in October. FLYafrica finds out more about the festival’s five days of rapping, breakdancing, beatboxing, graffiti and DJing.

Media platform yoyo tinz gets its name from Ghanaian slang for hip-hop –the ‘yo, yo’ refrain punctuates many a rapper’s flow – and has been documenting and promoting the rich and diverse but often misunderstood music genre in Africa since 2013.

The non-profit organisation took its showcasing role – which includes in-depth articles and online video documentaries on up-and-coming and established hip-hop talent as well as free-to-download mixtapes of artists on its radar – to another level last year when it launched the yoyo tinz festival, Ghana’s first hip-hop festival.

The five-day event launched last November was a huge success with more than 1,000 people descending on the La Raceway – the Tema venue was given such a transformative makeover for the festival it is now an in-demand location for video and photo shoots – with activities including film screenings, graffiti workshops, DJ sets, open mic sessions, rap battles, exhibitions and live music concerts.

That the yoyo tinz team – made up of young (all under 35) hip-hop obsessed creatives who give their services for free – know how to put on a party should be no surprise to anyone who has visited the showstopping ‘yoyo tinz shrine’ stage at Chale Wote, which has proved one of the most lively and crowded places to be at the Accra annual street festival.

Second year

This year’s festival looks set to build on the success of the launch event and promises a bigger audience, more international artists and more activities. It runs from Wednesday, 9 October to Sunday, 13 October with events taking place across two Accra sites, Terra Alta and Alliance Française.

The outdoor events area of Terra Alta, which has as its executive director dancer and performance artist Elisabeth Sutherland, lends itself to the focus of this year’s event, which will aim to shed more light on the art of breakdancing within hip-hop culture.

To this end, the festival will begin at Terra Alta with a photography exhibition called ‘Dance’, which highlights the role of breakdancing within hip-hop culture. The next day there will be a screening of the French film ‘Les Indes Galantes’ starring Senegalese street dancer Dexter. Over the weekend there will be dance demonstrations and a kids’ breakdance battle.

While breakdance will be at the fore, the festival will, like last year, showcase and spread awareness of hip-hop culture via its other elements of rap, graffiti, beatboxing, and DJing.

Local talent

The yoyo tings team – led by founder and photographer Selorm Jay and co-director Essenam, also known as ‘Madam yoyo tinz’, from its Accra headquarters – see the festival as continuing the work of its online platforms in introducing to a wider audience talented artists who were previously not well represented on the Ghanaian entertainment scene. Last year’s festival helped bring attention to artists such as Akan, Worlasi, Abena Rockstar and Yung Pabi as well as promoting scratch DJs such as DJ VimTinz and the graffiti artists Kali, Ekow and Deff Art.

As well as showcasing and legitimising hip-hop artists from Africa and the diaspora, the festival reveals the educational potential of the often misinterpreted and maligned hip-hop culture and how it provides avenues for creativity and selfexpression. There will be a number of panel discussions and workshops exploring these areas.

The team also believes it is important for kids to be in contact with arts and culture from a young age and so have made the yoyo tinz festival family friendly. It offers a safe space with activities such as video games, skateboarding and basketball to appeal to younger visitors.

Unfortunately, like last year, the 2019 festival has so far been unable to secure financial support. The first yoyo tinz festival was made possible thanks to the free participation of artists and money raised predominantly by crowdfunding, but also through sales of merchandise and personal funds.

Funding

If you would like to contribute to the funding of this year’s event – all donations, no matter how small, are welcome – visit festival.yoyotinz. com for more details. Keep an eye on the yoyo tinz Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for the latest announcements on the artists set to appear at this year’s festival and any last-minute changes to the programme.

Timings and events are liable to change – check on yoyotinz.com closer to the event

yoyo tinz festival programme 2019

Wednesday, 9 October Venue: Terra Alta Time: 6 pm

‘Dance’ photography exhibitionhighlighting a key element of hip-hopculture: breakdancing. Exhibitioncurated by Essé Dabla-Attikpofeaturing Siaka Traore (BurkinaFaso), Selorm Jay (Ghana) and OfoeAmegavie (Ghana)

Thursday, 10 October Venue: Terra Alta Time: 6 pm

Urban short films screening plusdiscussion and video conference withthe directors. ‘Les Indes Galantes’(YouTube) (France). Dexter dancemovie on Liberia (Senegal). More to beannounced

Friday, 11 October Venue: Alliance Française Accra

Time: 3 pm to 5 pmWorkshop – Tax filing in the creativesector with GRA

Time: 6.30 pmFeatured film screening – ‘Coz ovMoni’ Marathon (1/2/3) – TBC

Saturday, 12 October Venue: Terra Alta Time: From 11 am

All day long: Video games, skateboarding, basketball11 am to 1 pm: DJ set1 pm to 3 pm: Dance demonstration with instructor3 pm to 5 pm: Kids breakdance battle and beatmakingcompetition5 pm to 7 pm: Open mic session7 pm to 8 pm: DJ set8 pm: Concert

Sunday, 13 October Venue: Terra Alta Time: From 11 am

All day long: Video games, skateboarding, basketball,11 am to 1 pm: DJ set1 pm to 3 pm: Dance demonstration with instructor3 pm to 5 pm: Kids breakdance battle and beatmakingcompetition5 pm to 7 pm: Open mic session7 pm to 8 pm: DJ set8 pm: Concert