"In Kenya these days the music of choice is home-grown Hip Hop. A new generation of musicians - young and poor - are reaching out to their audience with a music born of their shanty town experience. Its got an irresistible beat, with a political bent," explains Independent Australian filmmaker Cathy Scott, who lives in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and in 2005 filmed Kenya Hip Hop - focusing on Sinpare - for ABC's Foreign Correspondent. 

Official website: www.sinpare.com

[above: Onepare and Peats from SINPARE at South Bondi Headland...photo by bP]

Invited to Australia as collaborators to build a future bridge between African and Australian hip hop, outspoken Nairobi crew Sinpare have made an unprecedented impact on their first trip outside Kenya.  Multiple concerts in three states with some of Australia's most respected hip hop artists, were followed by requests to record in their studios.  The upcoming Sinpare video clip will show it all!

Initially, the invitation had been arranged for Sinpare to participate in the closing party of Next Wave Festival, and play a couple of extra shows with the multilingual Uber Lingua DJs in Melbourne and Sydney.  But the power of their first shows - and the level of media interest - made an extension of their stay inevitable, and three extra shows were organised in Tasmania.

Sinpare were first noticed in Australia through being featured on the documentary 'Kenya Hip Hop', which was broadcast on the ABC's national 'Foreign Correspondent' program in 2005.  Next Wave then approached Uber Lingua - who have worked with some of the globe's most influential musicians such as Asian Underground pioneers Earthtribe (UK) and Mexico's Nortec Collective - to realise Sinpare's Australia tour.  Uber Lingua is a group of DJs, VJs and broadcasters positioned around Australia at the heart of the continent's multicultural club scene, festivals, avant-garde production, and the media.

Whilst Uber Lingua DJs bP and sakamoiz personally provided the beats and publicity, their network of hip hop artists supported and recorded with Sinpare. 
In Tasmania and Sydney, Sinpare joined world-renowned beatbox MC and hip hop theatre director Morganics, who has toured the USA several times, and just recently returned from working in Tanzania with Wayahudi Family.  Sydney's 4:20 and Melbourne's Diafrix are two fresh Afro-Australian hip hop crews whose debut EPs are already landing them high profile shows.  The producer of 4:20 - DJ Jonah - is an Australian born and bred in Nigeria, and others in the two crews have roots in Uganda, Eritrea, the Comoros Islands; and the African diaspora in Belize and Haiti.

In Melbourne, scratches for Sinpare were provided by ARIA-award (Australian Grammys) winning technical turntablist DJ Wasabi of Combat Wombat, who are set to tour North America in August 2006.  Also playing with Sinpare were Curse Ov Dialect, who are signed to US label Mush and recently toured the USA, Europe and Japan.  At the Next Wave closing party, Sinpare were joined by the likes of WickidForce Breakers - the Australian national break dance champions the third year running, and Australia's entry at The Battle of The Year World Breakdancing titles in Germany.

Sinpare's tour was not about dropping names, but establishing deeper ties and levels of understanding between Africa and Australia.  The hopes and aspirations of contemporary Kenyans - and Africans - were given a light on radio and stage.  Footage for the next Sinpare video clip was filmed at Sydney's famous Bondi Beach and Opera House; Melbourne's infamous graffiti filled back alleys and the Aboriginal Tent Embassy; and the Hobart jamming with Morganics and King Marong's djembe.

Whilst Daara J (Senegal) and K'Naan (Somalia/Canada) are the only African crews who had previously travelled to perform over in Australia, Sinpare's visit has truly opened the doors to make the trickle of collaborations a future flood.

What Sinpare achieved in three weeks:

CONCERTS
:: 23 March :: Melbourne @ St Jeromes with Curse Ov Dialect, bP, sakamoiz, Marguerite and VJs Arnold Eye Irons, Emile Zile, Dom
:: 25 March :: Sydney @ Gaelic Club with 4:20, Morganics, MashyP, bP
:: 26 March :: Sydney @ Sydney Harbour with MashyP, bP, Sheerien, sakamoiz
:: 29 March :: Melbourne @ HiFi Bar with Combat Wombat, Diafrix, bP, sakamoiz and VJs Arnold Eye Irons, naH, Dom
:: 2 April :: Melbourne @ Meyers Place with WickidForce Breakers, Fresh Sox, The Movement Hip-Hop Crew, Quix Steppin, Rewind Dance, bP and Ms Butt
:: 7 April :: Hobart @ Trout with Morganics, sakamoiz, Prince Boom & Prince Dirt, plus screening of 'B.L.A.C.K. An Aboriginal Song of Hip Hop'
:: 8 April :: Hobart @ Republic Bar with King Marong & Afro Mandiko 
:: 9 April :: Hobart @ Botanical Gardens with Morganics, DJ Ari

RADIO INTERVIEWS
:: ABC Triple J / Weekend Lunch / with Gaby Brown (national)
:: ABC Triple J / The Hip Hop Show / with Maya Jupiter (national)
:: ABC Radio National / The Deep End (national)
:: SBS Radio / Alchemy (national)
:: SBS Radio / African Hour (national)
:: FBi Radio 94.5 FM / Weekend Lunch / with Anna Burns (Sydney)
:: Edge Radio 99.3 FM / Dialect-ic / with sakamoiz (Hobart)

ADDITIONAL RADIO AIRPLAY/COVERAGE ON
:: PBS 106.7 FM (Melbourne)
:: 3RRR 102.7 FM (Melbourne)
:: RTR 92.1 FM (Perth)

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
:: The Age (Melbourne) - 'Gold'
:: mX (Melbourne) - photo on front cover with Robotgirl (www.robotgirl.com.au)
:: The Mercury (Hobart) - 'Kenyan rappers' political agenda'
:: Sauce (Hobart) - 'African New Wave is about to hit hard'

ONLINE MEDIA
:: The Program (International) - 'The People's Voice On The Streets'

COLLABORATIVE STUDIO RECORDINGS WITH ARTISTS
:: Combat Wombat (Melbourne) - www.combatwombat.org
:: Diafrix (Melbourne) - www.diafrix.com
:: Morganics (Sydney) - morganics.info
:: DJ Jonah from 4:20 (Sydney)

click on the dates below for more info on Sinpare performances...

After getting their flights put back a week, Uber Lingua was able to extend the SINPARE (Kenya) tour to include Hobart... and they joined the lineup of an event at the Trout alongside Morganics from Sydney and other local crew including sakamoiz...

SINPARE also made a late entry onto the bill of a great African event at the Republic Bar Hobart... here are some shots