Once a month on a Sunday in the township of Masiphumelele near Kommetjie a group of youth gather to share poetry and music to create Hip Hop. Although Hip Hop has become associated with conspicuous consumption
and misogyny celebrated by predominantly American music stars, its initial
core philosophy is centred on social consciousness and empowerment in
disadvantaged communities. The element of soc
ial consciousness remains a focus of the Hip Hop genre in South Africa and the MasiMassive initiative in the township of Masiphumelele near Kommetjie has been using the collaborative nature of the genre as a vehicle for HIV education, life-skills knowledge and skills mentorship to youth for the past two years. Now, following a winning submission to the Design Indaba’s ‘Your Street’
competition the monthly Hip Hop jam is set to grow. Together with the Muizenberg-based One Love Studio and Isiqalo Foundation who respectively use visual art and surfing as mediums imparting life skills to young people from disadvantaged communities, MasiMassive received R100 000 to implement the SoundWaves for Change project in Masiphumelele. Heading up SoundWaves for Change (SW4C) is Oscar Thetha, who is a
graduate of the Isiqalo Foundation’s surfing-based Waves for Change project which gets Cape Flats youth out of the township and into the waves. By using the prize money to create a permanent stage and studio constructed out of a customised shipping container situated in Masiphumelele, SW4C aims to spread Hip Hop’s core message of social consciousness and knowledge through music, dancing, visual and performance art. In collaboration with architects Joe Schutzer-Weissmann and Nadine
Aschenbach, the shipping container is to be repurposed into a multi-purpose studio fitted with sound recording equipment, speakers and lighting. A communal planting project and mural/ graffiti artwork will complement the
studio and stage. The artwork and greenery will contribute to establishing a
sense of community ownership and will activate the street space. Although Kolobe Road will be the studio’s ‘home’, it will be designed to be
mobile in order to take the project to festivals and events in other communities. The “five elements” of Hip-Hop – Bboying/Bgirling, MC-ing, Graffiti art, DJing and Knowledge of Self - will be used as the conceptual building blocks for a programme of life-skills hosted at the studio. Just as Isiqalo’s highly successful ‘Waves For Change” project uses surfing as means to teach other skills, so too SoundWaves for Change will make use of the creative elements of Hip-Hop to channel potential and enable education. As with WFC the power of mentorship across age groups is seen as key to engaging effectively and sustaining the programme and its aims. The Sound Waves For Change Team consists of Andile Oscar Da O Thetha, architects Nadine Aschenbach and Joe Schutzer-Weissmann, Tim Conibear founder of Isiqalo, Sergio Rinquist and Claire Homewood of The One Love Studio and graffiti artist Mak1one. They are now busy with the final design, sourcing and seeking sponsorship
of materials/ equipment and developing the curriculum ahead of establishing the studio and initiating the programme.
