Hip Hop Shake Up: Challenging stereotypes of (dis)ABILITY - See more at: http://network.youthmusic.org.uk/learning/blogs/holly-t

We are Tang Hall SMART CIC, a social enterprise based in York, England. We're a community interest company offering music provisions for members of the community and disadvantaged people in the wider York area. We work with people with learning disabilities, long term unemployment, mental health issues, drug related problems; people who are disadvantaged in anyway. We believe music is for anyone and everyone. We here at SMART believe you may be interested in an inclusive workshop we held on 27th October, called Hip Hop Shake Up.

The workshop challenged stereotypes of ability, as it wasn't a regular workshop. this workshop wasn't the usual 'we tell you what to do', it was giving people with learning disabilities the freedom to make music how they wanted, with all their own ideas, their own lyrics, and choreographing their own dance moves. 

Our first video, the documentary of the day, shows the creative process the participants went through to achieve the final outcome: the music video. The purpose of these videos is to challenge stereotypes of ability, through the art of hip hop. The videos document the skills these people have; we feel they deserve recognition for being the stars of the show. 

At our inclusive rock schools we have heard our participants use the phrase 'our world', and we feel this sense of segregation needs to be addressed. We would hope our videos could contribute to understanding the issues related to disability. These videos gave these young people the chance to experience the freedom any young person deserves, no matter what society's perception of how able a person is. We hope you have interest in what we have done here, and it would be an honor to have your support. We want to make a statement, but in order to make a statement, we need as much support as we can get. 

The links to the videos are here, if you would like to view them it would be much appreciated, as we feel you may enjoy them. you are welcome to share them in anyway you can or want to.

Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfPzeY0sDYo Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62hAPjlnW9c

If you have any questions or queries, don't be afraid to contact me at holly@tanghallsmart.com