Here at deadset, our mission is to dig deeper into the issues and ideas that underly seemingly disposable pop culture. Right now, rap/hip-hop is having a moment globally and locally and 4ESydney is a movement out of Western Sydney that embraces all these aspects. The festival focuses on multi-art disciplines, music and local culture through the lens of a global hip-hop movement. This year, they celebrate their 6th year, spanning more than two weeks from Saturday March 21st to Sunday April 4th.
4ESydney is the only festival of its kind specialising in this arena. The weeks will be filled with panel discussions, workshops and live performances from some of Australia’s best in independent hip-hop. There is something for everyone, whether you’re industry folk, part of educational outreach, rap academics, aspiring artists or just members of the community curious as to what kids are bopping to these days.
While we commonly hyphenate ‘hip-hop’, 4ESydney aims to embody the spirit of HipHop as explained by one of modern rap’s founding fathers KRS-One (The Gospel of Hip Hop (2009)):
HipHop: Is the name of our creative force in the World. It is our lifestyle and creative consciousness.
Festival director and artist manager Vyvienne Abla goes deeper by explaining the significance of a movement like this having sprung from Western Sydney:
The vision for 4ESydney is simple – to cultivate a community that involves the power of people, shared stories through the love of HipHop. Born out of passion and the neglect of the west, 4ESydney was developed to create an industry infrastructure lacking in our local musical and arts landscape in Western Sydney.
We are dedicated to highlighting the impactful ways that youth, artists and industry utilise HipHop culture and activism to uplift their communities, address important social issues and create their own pathways for success. At the very core of 4ESydney, we are here for the long run and endeavour to develop a foundation and community that will connect and impact globally”
Solidifying their status as an important part of the Australian arts and cultural landscape, they are also partnering with Sydney’s 22nd Biennale this year. Attendees of 4ESydney can also look forward to hearing from artists such as L-Fresh the Lion, DOBBY, Omar Musa, Onefour manager Ricky Simandjuntak, Rhianna Patrick and more. Over the next two weeks, deadset will be looking at some of the highlights from the festival’s line-up with some in-depth artist and organiser interviews.
To check out the full line-up and schedule, and to take part in this movement, check out 4ESydney’s website and follow them on their relevant socials.
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