Urban Culture
The Faces behind Urban Culture Week
The Faces behind Urban Culture Week
Meet the people behind the Urban Culture Workshops
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They come from different backgrounds, different nationalities but one thing unites them: their passion for Urban Culture.
As Urban Culture Week gets ready to kick off on Thursday 23rd, meet the artists who will share their knowledge with the attendees ranging from B-Boying to Music Production.
B-Boy Frankie:
B-Boy Frankie
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Frank “B-boy Frankie” Perez is an inimitable soul brought up in what is known to many as the Mecca of Hip-Hop, New York City. Growing up in the borough of Queens he was introduced to b-boying at age 13 and it was not until a couple of years of simply dabbling in the art form later that he took his dance as a craft to be mastered. It was that decision which marked the beginning of a journey that would spark a change in his life. It started with the meeting of Rocism, B-Ready, and Jiggz of the Supreme Beings crew, as well as K-won of Swift Kids that contributed to his learning of foundation.
DJ OUTLAW:
DJ Outlaw
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DJ Outlaw, born Mohammed Hasan - the founding member of Outlaw Productions creative studio is born and raised in the Kingdom of Bahrain, fascinated by the hip hop movement from a very early age. His musical career started back in '97 when he began as an independent Dj. However, unlike the few other of the time, Outlaw refused to limit his career to merely Djing at parties. As his understanding and thirst for the art form grew, so did his talent; this began to become apparent in '99 when he managed to start his own music production studio at home.
Up until this day, Outlaw has all his efforts set on digging for fresh, youthful talented individuals who have the same passion for hip hop allowing him to be one of the only individuals in the region that offers –both, proper equipment to work with as well as the right environment for Hip Hop break through to begin.
BIG HASS:
Big Hass
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Hassane Dennaoui (aka Big Hass) is the founder of Re-Volt, an online radio blog, since October 2009. He's also the host & founder of Saudis first & only hip-hop radio show “Laish Hip- Hop?” He recently launched Re-Volt Magazine, “a monthly source of real hip-hop culture,” to expand his work even further and to promote the true essence of Hip-Hop & Arab Culture to the world.
Sarah Nabil:
Sarah Nabil
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Sarah Nabil, a 22 year old Bahraini artist, is the first female R&B/hip-hop producer and composer in Bahrain and the region. Upon discovering a passion for music at an early, Sarah started out being self-taught on the piano and composing original melodies. However, that wasn’t quite sufficient for her, and she felt the need to take her music to the next level.
At the age of 17, Sarah fell in love with the art of music production and knew that that was what she wanted to do. Around that time, she met DJ Outlaw who has since become her mentor and joined Outlaw Productions as the communication specialist and producer/ composer. Since then, Sarah has been working on developing her skill-set and collaborating with regional R&B and hip-hop artists.
Huvil:
Huvil
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"My name is Mahmood and I use Huvil as a street art name, the philosophy behind the name is changing the idea streetart in Bahrain from a negative vandalism to beautiful and positive graffiti and murals. I do illustration, graphic design and everything that goes under the street art field. I started in 2007-2008. I focus more on big murals than sketches and artworks on canvases . Calligraphy is what I love the most. I basically break the Arabic calligraphy rules by twisting the letters and creating my own calligraphy out of it , and have my own style of Arabic calligraphy , I usually use arabic traditional inspiration in my artworks.
My aim is to build and rise the street art seen in Bahrain, make it something respectful and trying to show the positive side of Bahrain through street art."
Tyrone:
Tyrone - The Notorious IBE
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Notorious IBE is known as one of the world’s most famous Hip Hop dance and Urban culture festivals. This year the IBE celebrates it’s 15th edition since it’s inception in 1998.
In it’s long history the IBE has faced many changes, highs and lows, but by holding on to some core values that were set at the establishment of the festival the IBE has been able to continue to grow into the festival that it is today.
In 2008 the Notorious IBE moved to the city of Heerlen, Holland’s 34th biggest city in the most southern part of the country. A city in a part of the country dealing with serious numbers of aging.
A region which youth and young adults leave behind to go work and study in economic and culturally stronger cities and provinces of the country.
A great part of the success of the IBE festival has been it’s connection to local, national and international cultural organizations and most important people. These cultural partnerships have been so fruitful that now in 2015 people from over 30 different countries visit the festival and for one long weekend in the year make the city of Heerlen the heart of the international Hip Hop and Urban Dance community.
