Hip Hop landed in the UK in the 80s conquering young minds and souls. From Bboying to Djing, from Graffiti to Rapping, imitating what was coming from the US was part of a path towards understanding the complexity of these new cultural expressions. Soon the 4 elements had to adapt to the cultural traditions as well as to the social and political conditions of the specific texture on which they were developing, creating a local and unique scene. The difficulties of everyday life in London during those times were such that Hip Hop was soon embraced by the youth as a way to express their identity and, at the same time, as a form of rebellion against social marginalization. Conscious or unconscious, cultural resistance is what that generation was expressing thought their words and bodies and through musical and visual images. These elements started to undermine the urban surface, having their epicentre in the Covent Garden area, getting first noticed by independent record labels that started publishing the powerful sound, lyrics and style of the London scene.
Mc E-mix (Family Quest) supports Unstoppable
About the Film Makers:
"First of all we are Hip Hop lovers. Hip Hop brought us together as a crew, Hip Hop gave us the topic for this documentary and Hip Hop will make all of this happen.
We are an international crew of professionals mainly working in the film industry ready to invest all of ourselves in this exciting new project. Some of us have been knowing each others for years, some of us just met. We gathered as a team for the first time in December 2012, when Lidia (director), Giuseppe aka u.net (author), Viola (producer), Vanina (sound recordist) and Claudia (researcher) traveled to London for the 4our Pillars event at the Underdog Gallery. Here the encounter with Nicola (producer), Hannah (assistant producer) and then with Anna (community manager) completed the creation of this young and enthusiastic team. A collaboration between Woka from Rome and 11 Little Films from London was agreed, and this led to the shooting of the very first interviews in December when we met Mc Mello, Rodney P and Myster MC, Cheeko and Dirty Harry from the Family Quest crew. Then we met Logic in January, to check out what a representative from the younger generations of mcs thinks, while in March we had a second intense session. We had the opportunity of interviewing Fresh Ski, DJ Fingers and Yankee, and we had the massive honour to host a round table with Mc Mello, Ameena, Pride and Alex Mac. It ended up in a 7-hour-long intense sunday afternoon with loads of experiences and deep thougths shared and discussed.
We already have two other sessions scheduled, one at the beginning of June and a second one in August.
In June we'll be attending the 4our Pillars event on friday the 7th and go on with our meetings and interviews. In August we'll shoot the core of the documentary: all the remaining interviews we need, and all the cool shots of London that, along with the archive footage we are gathering, will support the documentary's narrative.
So, keep yourself updated on the development of Unstoppable, and find out more on the roots of Hip Hop in UK!
Yo"
Unstoppable - The roots of Hip Hop in London
Henry Chalfant supports Unstoppable
