‘What If Hip-Hop’ Sessions: empowering the underground movement

HIP-HOP heads and beat seekers all headed to La Marmite on Saturday for the ‘What If Hip-Hop’ sessions.

Things got off to a slow start but the possibility of a full fledged turn up hung heavily in the air. The chill vibe promised more.

The show began with a performance by HeavyG, spitting a diss track ‘Moeder Muzik’ directed towards S-Man.

When the ‘Beste Afrikaans Rapper Van Die 061’, according to his Reverbnation account, performed his song as a warm-up earlier in the night, his crew walked in cheering from Independence Avenue, dancing and rapping along to his nothing-less-than-blunt lyrics.

They were the most dedicated fans that night.

Another highlight of the evening was the only female performer, Esmerelda Ghettoballerina, who twirled and showcased her lyrical prowess about a girl “sipping on Jack, but she all alone”. Definitely a local rapper to keep your eye on.

Amongst other performers were Marven Southgate, Handel Mahela, Johnnie LeNoir and Young Ballers.

The ‘What If’ sessions work towards opening a platform for upcoming rappers.

“The aim is to create a culture where everyone knows about local hip-hop artists,” organiser Neptune Black enthused. He bases his line-up choices on the quality of the tracks sent to him. He generally posts call-outs on Facebook, inviting rappers to send through their content and possibly perform at the sessions.

Rappers made it clear throughout the night that music is their daily bread and in their blood – their aesthetic represented in their wordplay not limited by any form of commercialisation, just genuinely for the love of hip-hop.

Neptune Black hosted the 11th session under no specific theme this time around, however, some of his previous shows were centred around seasons and charity drives.

Speaking to The Namibian after the event, he said that regardless of it being an intimate event, the crowd showed enough support and likened them to those in a stadium.

Neptune’s aim with these events is to promote an underground hip-hop movement and hopefully elevate artists to the mainstream.

Working closely with Nam-Tv and #Nt.our.age, people he considers family, Neptune explained that #Nt.our.age is where the ‘What If’ sessions seed was planted. They handle the visuals, which includes the poster and the line-up. Local hip-hop YouTube promoters Nam-Tv also came through to film the event.

Neptune Black closed off the evening performing his tracks ‘Fall Back’ and ‘Sold Out’, tracks familiar to parts of his audience, and showed off his engaging stage presence.

When it comes to the ‘What If Hip-Hop’ sessions, this is just the beginning and we want more.

– @liquoricekiki on Twitter and Instagram; Kawela Kiki M’ule on Facebook

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