Every Hip Hop fan in Luton should put this weekend aside and come to the UK Centre for Carnival Arts for some of the finest Hip Hop access - Films, a performance from current leading Lady Lykez and workshops with old skool legend Kenny Baraka.
Saturday 20th February
4pm - 'The Endz' - a documentary exposing the good and bad sides of North, South, East and West London.
6pm - Hip-opera 'Inferno' and 'the Making of Inferno' Documentary
8pm till late - the one and only Lady Lykez in concert
Sunday 21st February
3pm - 'Rize' - a documentary revealing the dance phenomenon that's exploding on the streets of South Central LA
5pm - the big one - 'The History of Hip Hop Music' interactive workshop with hip hop guru Kenny Baraka
7pm - 'Wu: The story of the Wu Tang'. This film does exactly what it says on the tin - the perfect finish to an unforgettable weekend
Films are £4 each or two films on the same day at £7.
Patrons who attend both films on Saturday gain free entry to see Lady Lykez in concert and those who pay to see both on Sunday can attend the Kenny Baraka workshop for free.
Lady Lykez may only be 19 but she has already recorded with Malachi of The Dungeon Family in Atlanta, played at Glastonbury, T in the Park, Underage and Hip Hop Kemp and has now completed her debut album collaborating with such artists as Chipmunk. An exciting young Hip Hop/Grime UK female artist with a rising reputation, Lady Lykez combines 'rough edged grime and hip-hop with often wise and witty wordplay' - DJ magazine.
She recently completed an album in Mali, Africa with Akala, Bashy, Kele Le Roc, Silverstone for 'Routes to Rootz' funded by Bigga Fish and she's now back in the UK and ready to showcase her unique sound, "echoing the distinctive UK take of an artist like Dizzee Rascal mixed with the vocal dexterity and off kilter song structures of Missy Elliot." As one of the country's most versatile breakthrough artists, Lykez and her band can rock out heavy, smash a live hip hop set and fill the dance floor with pumping electro pop beats while Kele Le Roc and Zarif provide explosive guest vocals. According to Dazed and Confused she is, "set to follow Dizzee Rascal and Wiley into the big leagues in 2010″
Kenny Baraka has performed across the world with the likes of Estelle, Mos Def, Omar, Tippa Irie, Supernatural, A Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Rodney P and Burning Spear. Baraka is a journeymen griot; born in Eritrea, raised in New York and now residing in London, he has been sharpening and sharing his craft with diverse communities and musicians the world over.
A teacher, lyricist, song writer and author Kenny B has brought his brand of street-smart intellectualism to classrooms, venues and periodicals for over 10 years. The Lyricist Lounge, a legendary hip-hop institution, hailed him of the Years Best early in his career and he has since gone on to become an institution himself in the realms of Urban Poetry in the Hip Hop world.