Indo-German Hip Hop & Urban Art Project: 26 – 28 April 2012

The Indo-German Hip Hop & URBAN CULTURE WEEK is the brainchild of Akim Walta, one Germany’s most influential hip hop and urban arts practitioners. The project is a community of like-minded artists and partners which includes Tiny Drops, SlumGods, the Wall Project, DJ Uri and Sound Curry. The idea is to create a culture of hip hop in the country which is democratic, inclusive and sustainable in the long run.

Together, they have successfully run and executed several projects in the past two years. With Tiny Drops, SlumGods and Roc Fresh crew they have participated in and organized community bboy jams and workshops in Delhi and Bombay (at Battle Fort Dharavi, Celebrate Bandra festival, Youdh Bboy Championships, Danceworx Academy, Pali Naka). Their music projects with DJ Uri and Sound Curry have included the tour of Marc Hype and Jim Dunloop with workshops and gigs at Bonobo, Cool Chef Café and Blue Frog in Bombay, Circa 1191, TLR Cafe, Out of the Box in Delhi, college festivals like Mood Indigo at IIT Powai, IIT Warangal, and more. With the Wall Project, they have painted murals inside the BMC office in Dadar, walls on Chapel Road and Mount Mary in Bandra, in Dharavi, and several more. The highlight of the graffiti projects was the painting of the walls of the German Embassy in Delhi on the occasion of the German Year in India, which the current Hip Hop & Urban Culture Week is also part of.

AKIM WALTA / ZEB.ROC.SKI / ZEBSTER BIO

Over the past two decades, Akim Walta has built and contributed to the community of music, dance, graffiti, book and music publishing as well as organising workshops and lecturing across the world. For instance, Walta was a guest speaker at the first Red Bull Music Academy Workshop, where he discussed his work with setting up MZEE Records, the first German hip hop music label.

MZEE Records, established in 1992, has over 100 releases of German rap, instrumental hip hop focused on b-boy tracks and several classics. His own music has always focused on promoting hip hop culture as a movement in the mainstream world: some music clips produced by him have run on heavy rotation on European channels like Viva, MTV, etc.

His b-boy alias ZEB.ROC.SKI and ZEBSTER (graffiti alias) are instantly recognisable key words in the world of hip hop and pop culture. Walta is also the author of the critically acclaimed and classic volume Hip Hop Files.

Today, Walta runs his own venture called Hip Hop Stutzpunkt, to promote hip hop culture in Berlin and has extended his work beyond the boundaries of the European Union. His last project in China from 2008-2010 successfully created an exchange and network of hip hop artists between Germany and China.

DJ URI BIO

With solid roots both in the UK & Indian DJ/Nightlife & Social scene, DJ Uri has been mixing it up around India for the last 17 years. That has led him to a point where he believes that the Indian public demand more choices and variety of music and culture, than what is currently being provided. With the lack of Vinyl DJ’s within the Indian DJ circuit, that real essence of Hip-Hop DJs and MCs is truly missing from what is fast becoming the world’s largest clubbing community. This art form is something that DJ Uri is passionate about introducing to the DJ scene. He believes everyone should to take more of an interest in the history of music and where and how it all came about.

The past year Uri has been putting on his own events in Mumbai, promoting and playing 70’s Funk, Soul and Old Skool Hip-Hop nights. As one half of KAZURI hosting “IMAGINE” & “RECYCLED”, nights paying homage to classic and original songs, and has recently put on a night at Zenzi/Mumbai, “BLACK SOUL” dedicated to legendary soul labels Motown, Stax & Chess Soul.

ROC FRESH CREW BIO

Roc Fresh Crew was founded on December 15, 2009 by breakdancers Simon, Bunny, AmB, Wasim, Gani & Example. Bboys Ninja, Kid & Abdul joined the Crew a year later. Unified, they form a legendary force flaunting style, skill, grace and power. Roc Fresh is a pioneer in India’s Hip Hop scene, modeling strong leadership, commitment, and unity for rising breakers, and organizing events that promote Dance alongside DJing, MCing and Graffiti, for an authentic communication of Hip Hop culture.

Championship winners of countless Crew, Solo, Footwork and Power Moves battles, Roc Fresh has left an impact across India and abroad. Notable performances include: the launch of Ed Hardy, Delhi; the Auto Expo 2008 for Yamaha Motors; E.A. Sports sponsored Vexture National Gaming Competition, 2008; MTV’s CrazySexyCool.com; the Red Bull Street Style Soccer Competition Finals, 2008; Bandra Festival 2009 with NYC’s DJ Rekha; India’s Got Talent, 2009; Gold’s Gym, 2010; Pogo Mad Carnival, 2009; MTV Stunt Mania Auditions (5 city tour), 2010; and for Hip Hop nights at major clubs.

The Crew has also been featured in music videos including Punjabi MC’s Morni Jan, 2011; Juggy D’s Ni Soniye; Disney’s The Cheetah Girls: One World; Shamur’s Rock Your Body; Star One’s Chak De Funjabi; Disney’s We Rock (Camp Rock); and in Bollywood movies Aloo Chat and What’s Your Raashee, 2009.

Roc Fresh provides mentorship and conducts workshops with NGOs such as Tiny Drops Hip Hop Collective, and in Colleges across Mumbai such as St. Xaviers, Mithibhai, MMK, and Sophia. It has organized events in Mumbai clubs and across India with Cypherholics BBoy Summit. The Crew is represented globally by SlumGods Hip Hop Collective.

SHIRO BIO

Shiro began painting in 1998 in Shizuoka, Japan. She has been expressing her own vision of the world and for life through her original characters. She decided to stay in NY and develop her talent as a graffiti artist. From 2002 to 2004, she lived in Brooklyn and Queens NY. As an international artist, she continues to be inspired by the strength and creativity of old-school hip-hop.

In Japan, Shiro has worked with many people in the hip-hop industry, organizing graffiti shows and participating in painting events. She loves traveling, painting, making friends and leaving footsteps of her existence all over the world. She has participated in community awareness murals and other large-scale graffiti projects, also in gallery art shows and been a part of graffiti crew gatherings in USA, Europe, and Japan.

She also has worked on canvases, illustrations, graphics design, and has produced her original clothing brand “BJ46”.

In addition to her accomplished career as an artist, she works as a nurse and witness a lot of suffering and drama. The experiences from the medical field changed her prospective on life and she wanna express her message through her artwork:
“Love life and live it to the max! We exists RIGHT NOW, RIGHT HERE!”