Mamita Setling, the 24 year old known as ‘Mommie’ of the hip hop duo FunkyFresh, said, “There were under 20 participants at the workshop between 13-22 years old. Almost all of them were boys but I’m hoping to see more girls in the future.” [break]
Speaking about the other half of FunkyFresh, Kush Lama known as ‘Masta Kush,’ Mommie says, “He’s the visionary and I take care of the execution. He has great ideas and I help him bring them to life.” One of these ideas being the first hip hop workshop held in Nepal.
Masta Kush, 22, claims the most important aspect of this project was “providing for the kids.” Working with event management companies, eleven11 and I Love ENT, Masta Kush says, “We found a lot of hidden talents from the students, many didn’t know they had it and just needed a boost.”
Many of the participants, like Saujanya Pradhan, 19, are self-taught, “I’ve been interested in popping for about two years,” he says. The KCM student had some general knowledge of popping was able to pick up on new skills like graffiti.
While others, like 21 year old star pupil Amrit Rai, were just happy to have met people with different ideas that he can embrace. Tsering Sherpa, 22, agrees, “I was already doing some free styling, beat making and slam but it was cool to be introduced to people interested in what I do too.”
Friday night at Tipsy Lounge, Durbar Marg, had an incredibly slow start hours after the scheduled time. But though late the audience were privy to some spontaneous dance performances that weren’t choreographed to encourage more free styles.
The second night at House of Music, Thamel, was a longer event scheduled to start mid-afternoon which also took a few hours to pick up and get going. Saturday night showcased some live graffiti, slam poetry, popping and even featured other performers like Lyrics Indy, Manas from Nepsydaz, Bboy Nisthant, Albatross, and Word Warriors.
With hopes of having annual hip hop workshops in Nepal, Masta Kush said, “We aren’t looking for quantity, we’re looking for quality.” Hopefully that combined with a more organization will make the event more enjoyable for all those who take part in the years to come.
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