Baqi and I flew for what felt like a week. Portland to SFO, to JFK, to Istanbul, to Kilimanjaro, then after finding out Baqi’s checked bag didn’t make it we went on to catch a taxi the village of Embaseni, 35 minutes from Arusha.
We stayed at the UAACC hosted by MamaC and Mzee Pete O’neal.
This is the 2nd year UAACC has hosted us in AHC.
We had a da to chill before the comrades from Soundz of the South arrived from Cape Town.
Then the official activities began.
We hooked up with Biggie and others from SUA n town and saw their new office as well as got a run down of local developments within the Hip Hp factions locally and SUA’s own growing vision of self sustainability through Hip Hop.
One branch of the local scene is held down by Flex and his crew at the Stage ya Heshima venue and recording studio. Producers, emcees, beatmakers hone their craft here at open mics in a well ventilated concrete structure with colorful murals and burners, full peices, floor to ceiling.
This is the venue we will rock tomorrow.
Baqi and Anele from Cape Town stay along with Mama C and other local artists and hold down a panel on the relevance of Hip Hop and the gulf between commercial aspirations and Community Control.
While they did that Daz took Khusta and I to the radio station and we did interviews along with with emcee Ralph. We all freestyled and talked about the Caravan.
That was day 1.
Day two:
We went to Heshema, sat at the venue from beginning to end, ran an errand or two around bustling Arusha. This city is about 2 million according to a local.
I lost count of how many local emcees associated with the S.U.A. crew actually tore the stage to shreds that day. It was something to behold and a familiar feature of African Hip Hop slams. Muliple emcees rocking throughout the day as the audience grown in size and the light shifts and fades into evening as the sun arcs.
Khusta and I did our set together followed by Baqi.