STAFF WRITER
BULAWAYO is set to stamp its authority as the hub of hip hop in the country, as it is set to host the first ever Hip Hop Summit where a number of issues affecting the genre and the music industry in general will be deliberated.
Dubbed King City’s Byo Hip Hop Summit, the event is being organised by Kingcity Media, a consortium of rappers and producers from the city. The organisers are also working on roping different partners including The Zambezi Times which is the event’s official media partner.
According to one of the organisers, Mc Tytoh, the summit targets rappers, producers, Djs, businesses, budding artists, video producers and all those who love and appreciate the art form and culture of hip hop. The summit which is due in April will run under the theme #For the culture #LevelUp.
“We have set April 25 as the preliminary date for the summit. We haven’t announced the venue as we are monitoring the Covid-19 situation and regulations on gatherings. We are just hoping that by April Covid-19 regulations will have eased,” Mc Tytoh said.
“Participants will have an opportunity to interact and with industry captains and our well selected panel in order to get a clear picture on issues they didn’t understand and also to learn from success stories of other invited guests who have been in the industry for a lengthy period.”
He said hip hop genre has produced Bulawayo’s biggest pop and youth culture influencers who include, Asaph, the late Cal-vin and AWA among others.
Mc Tytoh said the summit will bring together like-minded musicians for a dose of inspiration, motivation, accountability, productivity, fun, and cross-promotion.
He further said it was on record that Byo hip hop artists have dominated radio charts in recent years.
“The recently hosted Zim Hip Hop awards which saw Bulawayo artists and practitioners taking the bulk of the awards. While acknowledging that in this liquid modernity trends are ephemeral, we are strongly held to the belief that Hip hop in Bulawayo is a culture with potential to anchor the City’s creative economy as well as facilitate positive social change,” Mc Tytoh said.
He added: “However, all the positives can count for nothing if there is no strategy for growth. The King City media will be hosting a one day virtual workshop with a view to seriously level up musical careers of local artists.”
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