Information and Cultural Exchange: Heads Up! Hip Hop artists take their stories to the screen

Heads Up! Hip Hop artists take their stories to the screen

Young people interested in telling their stories and delving into hip-hop music are encouraged to participate in Hip-Hop 101. This latest urban music course from ICE will encourage young people to develop their lyric writing skills, right through to making a video clip.

Information and Cultural Exchange (ICE) is building on its successful hip-hop course, which trains artists to develop their lyrics, use digital music programs and record their songs.

Participants in the next course, scheduled for September 25 to October 31, 2007, will also collaborate to make a group video clip.

Course coordinator MC Trey is a well-known Sydney hip-hop artist from ARIA Nominated hip-hop group, Foreign Heights, who is gaining wide recognition for her inspirational courses.

She has worked on urban music projects at ICE, targeting unemployed, early school-leavers and at-risk young people from Western Sydney for over 12 months. For this project, she will work with renowned DJ, Nick Toth, and bring in a range of other high-profile artists.

She says the enormous success of the first Hip-Hop 101 course in early 2007 prompted a second run. “Last time, participants went on to perform at the 2007 Sydney Writers’ Festival to a full-house,” she said.

For previous participant James Morgan, this exposure was invaluable. “I did Hip-Hop 101 earlier in the year and was thankful for the opportunities. We also got to perform in front of a massive crowd in the city. That was a highlight for me.”

MC Trey added video production in response to student feedback. “Previous participants asked me about making a video clip so thanks to the support from the Vodafone Australia Foundation, we have been able to accommodate this.”

The six-week course begins on September 25 and will run from 11am to 3pm, Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Granville at ICE’s Switch Multimedia and Digital Arts Centre and Granville Youth and Community Recreation Centre.

To find out more about the program contact Trey at ICE on 02 9897 5744 ext 7 or email urbanmusic@ice.org.au.