Veteran rapper and b-boy Morgan Lewis aka Morganics returns to his old stomping grounds at Carriageworks when Sydney’s industrial arena brought together an intense program of gritty, freestyle hip-hop as part of Platform Hip Hop Festival 2011.

Hip-hop culture transcends rapping. Morganics explained, “It’s also graffiti, d-jingo, the b-boying, the break dancing. That stuff is important and it makes it richer,” he says. “Hip-hop is not just a ringtone. It’s not what it’s become in the mainstream — it can be a lot richer than that.”

Novices to entusiasts were invited to undertake hip hop workshops throughout the 2 week festival delving into popping, locking, krumping, breaking and beat boxing. The final session took to the carriages of Cityrail with battles encompassing “rap”, a rhythmic style of chanting or poetry presented in 16 bar measures or time frames; and beatboxing, a vocal technique mainly used to imitate percussive elements of the music and various technical effects of hip hop DJ’s.

For a video of the first train cypher organised by Morganics with respect to New York’s Subway Sessions, view video below:

Byline/Photo Credit Josephine Ki  www.josephineki.com.au
Photography by Morganics http://www.morganics.info/
Hip Hop Festival http://www.platformhiphop.com.au/