GULFWEEKLY: A week-long celebration of Bahrain’s hip-hop scene is taking the kingdom by storm this week, commemorating more than 20 years since the movement began in the country, with music, dance and art.
Bringing together hip-hop lovers from across the GCC and even as far as Malaysia and London, the Foundation Jam kicked off last Saturday and will cap off tomorrow, June 12, with a final breakdancing face-off at Funland Centre near Marina Beach.
SPRAY: One of the pieces now on display at Funland
“We had done an underground jam a while ago and decided to do a bigger event this time at the place where it all started for me and others in the community,“ Foundation Jam organiser and graffiti artist Aref ‘Ayfu’ Ghuloom told GulfWeekly.
“Back in 2004, when my mum used to drop me here on the weekends, I began to get interested in break dancing, coming from a love for hip-hop, and growing to include graffiti as well.
“I met other dancers, DJs and MCs here and since the community that has its roots here is still alive, we decided to bring it back.”
VIBRANT: Bahrain’s hip-hop art culture movement combines global and local elements
Hip-hop is a global cultural movement that emerged in the Bronx, New York City, the US in the early 1970s. At its core is the use of turntables to mix records and create music, which has become the backbone of the culture.
An important element of the movement is breakdancing, also known as B-boying or B-girling, combining acrobatics, athleticism, and stylised footwork executed in a circle called a cypher.
Graffiti is the visual expression of hip-hop culture, transforming urban environments into canvases using spray paint, graffiti markers and aerosol.
In Bahrain and the Arab World, hip-hop has adapted to local culture by lending and borrowing terms from local slang, as well as influencing fashion trends over the years.
DESIGN: A graffiti artist starting to paint her piece after laying out the design
Graffiti also has been culturally adapted, with one example being artists like Ayfu spray-painting on Persian rugs to create unique, movable pieces of art.
“Hip-hop brought us together and gave us this energy and way to express ourselves creatively,” Ayfu added.
“From graffiti walls to cypher circles, this is about building the scene and pushing hip-hop culture forward across the GCC.
“For the past few days, graffiti artists have been bringing walls to life with raw creativity and style, and we are going to end this week with a B-boy competition today, June 11, followed by the finals tomorrow, June 12.”
BREAK: A dancer busts a move in a previous battle
Eight of the best break dancers from today’s faceoff at 4pm will proceed to tomorrow’s finals at 8pm.
“The event features a Seven to Smoke breaking battle, where the strongest breakers go head-to-head in nonstop rounds to prove who runs the floor,” organisers added.
A ‘Seven to Smoke’ is a fast-paced, ‘king of the hill’-style tournament format, where the goal is to be the first competitor to reach a total of seven wins (points) against other participants.
“We want to bring the community together - we have people from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, the UAE, even Malaysia and London,” Ayfu added.
“By having all these creative minds in the same space, we want to show that hip-hop is life!”
For more details, follow @the.foundation.bh on Instagram.
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