April was always gonna be a month full of rain but once again we
got lucky last Saturday when Da Beatz held their second annual
music showcase in Bishops Lucey Park as part of the World book
Festival. Again, the Triskel and all the sponsors did a fantastic
job in bringing together a fantastic line up of young singing,
rapping, djing, beatboxing, break-dancing and graffiti talent. The
sun even came out in force at one stage during a break-dance set by
the Rhythm Rebels/Zombie crew, and it is fair to say the hip-hop
gods were smiling on us for the evening!
Speaking of which, I wanna congratulate the
Rhythm Rebels and Zombie crew who are going over to represent Cork
and Ireland this summer in the World Breakdancing Championships in
Las Vegas this summer. These guys have been at the forefront of the
scene here in Cork now for ages and it’s great to see their
hard work being rewarded! Last Saturday was a superb showcase of
not only their talent, but of everyone involved. The rappers,
beatboxers and MC’s and singers are too numerous to mention,
but special mention must go to White Noize, Ciaran O’Regan,
Samir, Jaz, Bony, Mickey Gatch, Brozy, Nash and co, who all tore it
up. Ophelia was down as part of the Ladyfest celebrations and she
provided an incredible counter-balance to the predominantly male
macho vibe with a blistering set of hip-hop and soul accompanied by
DJ Mosschops!
There are so many people to
thank and both the World Book Festival and the Triskel did a
fantastic job, with Chloe of the Triskel tying the whole thing
together. Parkers Home Value and Cool C of All City deserve great
credit for their input and support, and Cork Graphic and Print of
Cook Street were also great in supporting an event that was
entirely free. The amount of tourists and passer-bys that came
along was great and it was fantastic to see people of all ages,
genders and races enjoying a free show in the Peace Park. Cork City
often under-sells itself but events like this are tremendous in
showing a side of youth culture that rarely makes the newspapers or
talkshows. Already, it looks as if Da Beatz are gonna be following
both this and our recent visit to Liverpool with some more big
events so keep an eye here for more details.
Ladyfest also ran a
successful all-ages gig last week and I’m delighted that the
young ladies of Coolaboola are celebrating their 3rd Birthday in
the soon to be opened Pavilion this June with another top class
line-up. With both Spitvalve and Mucky’s Wall ensuring that
Cork has once again got a big chance in the next Blastbeat final it
looks like the scene in Cork is only gonna get better in the next
few years. The youngsters of Cork are definitely giving us a hint
of some of the great things that could soon be in store!
This article originally appeared in Downtown of the Evening Echo last week
No comments:
Post a Comment