Graffiti in Paris: From the Streets of Belleville to the Grand Palais
Now that hip-hop is maturing in the fields of art, activism, education and business, what are the risks of hip-hop theatre itself becoming elitist and exclusive because of having penetrated mainstream institutions? What happens to graffiti’s aesthetics when the canvas is legal and the museum is commissioning you?… What happens when we share (and sell) the language that the man wasn’t supposed to understand? If the answer is that we create a new language, then where is it? What happens when hip-hop moves into the opera house and we still don’t own the opera house? What happens if we do own it?
— Danny Hoch from “Toward a Hip-Hop Aesthetic”
While hip-hop around the world has been coming to terms with its own maturity for years now, I don’t know if there is a more appropriate place to apply this quote than France. Here, actors in the hip-hop community are especially torn because they want their work to succeed but are deeply concerned about compromising the integrity of their art and of hip-hop’s original values for success. Previously, I’ve looked at how rappers and dancers feel about hip-hop’s transcendence into “high art” but, after a chance encounter with a graffiti artist in Belleville and the coincidental discovery of a Tag exhibit at Paris’ beautiful and historic Grand Palais, my last two weeks have been filled with graffiti and questions about what to do when the canvas becomes legal.
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France’s International Hip-Hop Dance Scene— Interview with Storm
Juste Debout finalists: Dancers from the Chicago-based crew FootworKINGZ (FootworKINGZ.com)
Since arriving in September, I have been to street performances, workshops, conferences, festivals, battles and theatrical spectacles all dedicated to hip-hop dance, and I am always impressed by how many members of the international community come to France to watch and participate. In an earlier post I wrote about the diverse dancers I met at the Who is Who battle last September, and earlier this month, I witnessed France’s hip-hop dance fever on an even larger scale at the finals for the Juste Debout battle at Bercy Stadium. At Juste Debout (which lasted over 10 hours!), dancers who had previously cleared the preselection rounds in their home countries, came to Paris to compete in one of four main categories: hip-hop newstyle, popping, locking, and house dance. Since Juste Debout means “Just Standing” in English, this battle is only for “top” dancing (so no breaking), and these dancers were incredible! Click here to see official photos at the Juste Debout website.
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I’m in a Music Video! (Rouki’s “Boa Vista”)
When I was seven, my lifelong dream was to be a Fly Girl on the television show In Living Color (think J. Lo circa 1991). If that didn’t work out, I wanted to be a backup dancer for concerts and music videos. Well, part of that dream has finally come true and even though I’m not dancing, being featured in my friend Rouki’s music video for “Boa Vista” is even better.
You may remember that I interviewed Rouki, a rapper and student, in a previous blog entry where we discussed what this song and his experience at Boa Vista meant to him. (If not, you can find the interview here.) This video, which recounts a typical day during an internship where he worked with extraordinary children, is a touching homage to the kids and the people he worked with— many of whom are prominently featured in the video. The chorus translates to “Boa Vista, I am leaving you but I will not forget you.” As Rouki said in the interview, “it is a song about love and a song about humanity” so please check out this premiere of his video (his first video!) and let us know what you think. Enjoy 
Interview with BAMBproduction
In contrast to election night (which was spent out celebrating until dawn), I stayed home in my apartment for President Obama’s Inauguration last month and watched it with friends online, with my family on the phone, and with a good amount of Parisians in spirit, who could watch all-day coverage on French news stations. A few days before the Inauguration, however, I caught up with my friends from the rap duo BAMBproduction to talk about their music, various challenges for French youth and minorities, and a little about what President Obama’s election means for them.
Here is a short clip of our great conversation where the artists discuss the meaning behind their song “Orphelins” (Orphans) and how it relates to certain issues they experience in society. After watching the video, definitely listen to “Orphelins” and “Le Courage” (Courage), below. While you’ll find out what “Orphelins” is about when you watch the video, “Le Courage” is another socially conscious song that discusses how real courage for young people means to resist bad influences, challenge racism and hatred, fight to obtain their diplomas, and ultimately succeed.
Enjoy!
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Round and Round— French Hip-Hop Round Tables, Conferences and Festivals
My last few weeks have been filled with discussions about the past, present, and future of French hip-hop. From a two-day conference on financing hip-hop culture to the recent week-long black film festival, which featured several movies about and by hip-hop artists, I have attended round table after round table and still have more to come!
The first event, Colloque Hip-Hop: Des Financements Pour la Culture Hip-Hop?, was a conference organized by INJEP (National Institute of Youth and Popular Education, in English), that brought together a diverse group of people in the hip-hop community from all over France including: rappers, dancers, scholars, politicians, graffiti artists, festival directors, and community youth leaders among others, to discuss how various groups can find funding for hip-hop related events and how hip-hop culture has evolved since its early days. In addition to presentations on the history and values of hip-hop and four round table discussions with titles such as “Does private funding allow for self-funding and freedom of creation?”, the conference also offered family-style meals so that the different participants could get to know each other, two hip-hop dance/theater performances and plenty of opportunities for everyone to speak up and make their voices heard.
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