Five ladies to mesmerise Dar with Hip Hop Asili

THE Hip Hop music heads for a new dawn with a Franco-German Cultural Fund that has invited five talented young women from Dar es Salaam and Arusha to participate in a two-week workshop aimed to further refining their artistic talents.

The event started on June 12th and is scheduled to climax on June 23rd this year. The workshop’s objective is to strengthen women’s presence in the vibrant Tanzania Hip Hop scene.

The workshop that commenced on Monday and at the renowned Uswazi Born Talent (UBT)in Mikocheni, Dar es Salaam and finalised with a live performance during the Hip Hop Asili festival.

The participants will receive expert facilitation from Tanzania music expert and artist, Carola Kinasha, internationally renowned music artists Julie Gomel from France, and Pamela Owusu-Brenyah, a distinguished music consultant and coach from Berlin, Germany.

Carola and Julie previously participated in last year’s highly acclaimed workshop. The resounding success of the previous workshop led to the group securing additional funding from the Franco-Germany Cultural Fund for the year 2023.

Building upon the insights from the previous workshop, it gave birth to a park of ladies’ labelled Her Hip Hop. These talented young women joined forces to produce an enchanting playlist for an upcoming concert with a captivating music video.

During the concert, the women will perform six beautiful songs they created over the past two weeks.

The songs are Tunaweza, Hustling, Gogo melody, Acapella, Amapiano and Walete. Her Hip Hop is a project for young female artists organised by Goethe-Institut Tanzania and Alliance Francaise and supported by Okoa Mtaa Foundation and Tanzania House of Talents.

The project aimed to gather various Hip Hop women from the country to provide a vigorous exchange of knowledge, skills, ideas and experience in the music industry.

Speaking on the workshop and last year’s project, the Goethe-Institut Tanzania Director, Mpangi Ottoe, noted their institution’s dedication to promoting international cultural exchange and social discourses.

“We connect people across the globe through an extensive network of 159 institutes in 98 countries. We strongly believe in the transformative capacity of culture and arts. “This power is exemplified vividly in the Her Hip Hop project. Over the past years, the Goethe- Institut Tanzania placed significant focus on several key areas, including empowering women in the arts and promoting music and knowledge exchange.”

Ottoe added: “Over the next two weeks, our participating artists will have the privilege of being guided by esteemed facilitators, including Carola, Julie and Pamela. The project catalyses the exploration and exchange of diverse cultural and musical influences.”

The collaboration will give the artists insights into the music market, new musical approaches, techniques and trends.

Ultimately, the experience will broaden their artistic horizons and push the boundaries of their creative expression. The culmination of their efforts will witness a visually captivating music video production and a stage performance at the Hip Pop Asili Festival next Friday at Alliance Française of Dar es Salaam.

Ottoe: “The journey ahead promises to be intensive and transformative. The group will refine their stage performances, enhance their voices, master dance movements, explore group dynamics, select stage attire and groove to the rhythm of their music.

“Their dedication and passion will culminate in a music video production and stage performance at the Hip Hop Asili festival, leaving an unforgettable mark on the industry.” Among the artists who benefited from the project, Diana Charles expressed her gratitude to the Goethe- Institut and Alliance Francaise, pressing that they have played a significant role in developing their talents as the group includes rappers, DJs, and RnB artists.

“We express heartful thanks to Goethe- Institut and Alliance Française for their immense contribution to our talent development; we are well trained and anxiously waiting to show the world to showcase our talent.

“Everything about us is our origin; we compose songs and perform live. It is such a complete group that the world would love it.” The Director of Alliance Française in Dar es Salaam highlighted the project’s transformative impact on the local music scene, “The Her Hip Pop Experience project embodies the spirit of artistic empowerment and cultural exchange, as these talented young women from Tanzania embrace their voices and talents to shape the future of Hip Hop.” Adding, Ottoe said their collective desire is to witness the group and its talented individuals thrive in the Tanzanian music market and make their mark on the global stage, transcending geographical boundaries with their remarkable artistry.

Arts Officer from National Arts Council, Augustino Makame, told the ‘Daily News’ it’s an honour to see young women with such a talent get an opportunity to nurture their talent through such arts stakeholders.

Makame affirmed the Arts Council’s aim to work collaboratively with the two partners to ensure artists prosper from the project.

The effort will include providing them with awareness of the ethics, laws and regulations surrounding them. He further briefed they will have an opportunity to meet with the Copyright Office, where they will also inform them of the few critical areas on copyright matters.