Facility was expected to preserve, protect, and promote SA hip hop history as well as to inspire young and emerging enthusiasts
SPORT, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa, in partnership with the Ritual Media Group, yesterday launched the South African Hip-Hop Museum.
The museum was expected to preserve, protect, and promote SA hip hop history as well as to inspire young and emerging hip-hop enthusiasts
Mthethwa said the newly refurbished state of the art facility will also serve as a museum and an enabling environment to drive education and empowerment through workshops, film editing, and music recording services provided to the creatives.
“The coronavirus pandemic has touched every country in the world. Its spread has left national economies and businesses counting the costs, as governments struggled with the new lockdown measures to tackle the spread of the virus. The creative fraternity was the hardest hit with many of our cultural workers unable to host mega events due to the restrictions imposed by Covid-19,” said Mthethwa
He added that a bulk of the creative sector consist of youth, the youth being the future of the industry and our country broadly.
In February 2020 the president championed the cause of youth unemployment through the Presidential Youth Employment Intervention through a number of other programmes which placed the issue of the youth unemployment at the centre of economic policy, economic stimulus and the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Programme (ERRP).
“Amongst the funding sources for the Hip Hop Museum is from the Presidential Employment Stimulus Package (PESP), in the tune of R9 million. R2 million will be used to create 844 new job opportunities and the retention of 20 current staff members. The type of jobs that will be created will be for researchers and hip hop artists, between the ages of 18- 35,” said Mthethwa
He added that R7 million was allocated for rehabilitating the space and infrastructure investment facilitation which would host workshops and talks; and will also have a recording studio and editing studio facility.
The museum will also collaborate with different people from the Arts, Culture and Heritage sector who do outreach programmes and who also are interested in spreading knowledge.
Workshop co-ordinators included Neil Thurston with guest artists such as L-Tido, Amunishn, Damani Nkosi, and Dj Kenzhero.
Mthethwa said the workshops for students will transfer skills to assist them that they will need for the journey ahead and they also have an opportunity to have access into the space going forward once it is launched.