Interview: All Elements

Dorset based Hip-Hop charity All Elements have spent a little time from their busy schedule to chat with us about their work.

RR Founded in 2011, what inspired you to start All Elements?
AE Hip Hop is a culture. Back in the day, if you were into Hip Hop, you were into the music, the dance and the art. We wanted to bring back that feeling of unity and culture to the local scene in Dorset. There’s a lot of great talent here and it’s exciting when people work together to achieve bigger things. It’s also made people more aware of what’s happening on their doorstep and there’s a lot more local networking happening now.

RR Do you just focus on the performance aspect of Hip Hop, or do you cover production and the technical aspects?
AE According to KRS-One, there are 9 elements to Hip Hop culture: DJing/production, graffiti, rap, breakin, beatboxing, street fashion, street language, street knowledge, and street entrepreneurialism. The great thing about Hip Hop is there’s something for everyone whether you’re a lyricist, producer, dancer etc. It’s not just entertainment it’s a lifestyle.

RR What is the best way for any aspiring Hip Hop artists to contact you? Do you have any prerequisites, or can anyone get involved?
AE All Elements is an open network for Dorset Hip Hop artists. We’re always looking to widen the network to include as many local people as possible, regardless of age or background. Our Facebook group is a great tool for artists to network and we have a page too for promoting local Hip Hop events. Our email is all.elements@hotmail.co.uk.

RR Have any of your aspiring artists broken out of the local scene into the industry?
AE For a long time, there’s been a divide between underground and commercial Hip Hop. Hip Hop culture was born in the street and the media has had a tendency to exploit it (and still does). Therefore, the “industry” is not always a desirable place to end up. However, many local Hip Hop artists have successfully realised their ambitions on their own terms. Every Hip Hop artist has to find their own path.

RR Are you able to name any successful local artists that have “broken” out of Dorset and made a name for themselves? What did they achieve?
AE Yes definitely but we can’t take credit for their success. Lots of local artists have made a name for themselves outside of Dorset – sometimes in the underground scene and sometimes commercially. The biggest success was probably Second to None – the legendary BBoy Crew. They won the UK BBoy Championships in London twice in the late 90s.

RR As a charity what has been your greatest success story?
AE Although we do a lot of youth projects, road trips, mixtapes and other activities all year round, our most popular thing is our summer events. We like to support existing Hip Hop events in the community and we also like to inject Hip Hop into local festivals that wouldn’t otherwise include it. Last year, we had a big area at the Bournemouth Family Festival in Meyrick Park. It was a really sunny day and we had a huge crowd all day long. There was even a van getting sprayed up. It was definitely one to remember.

RR What events do you have lined up, and what can the audience or prospective new artists expect from them? I assume you have two types of events, one to promote “All Elements”, and shows?
AE This summer is looking busy for All Elements! We sometimes support local Hip Hop events by helping to promote them and source equipment or anything else they need. We also create platforms at Dorset festivals for Hip Hop artists to jam, battle and show their skills. The focus is always on making sure the artists have a good time and then the audience will usually enjoy watching! We’ll be announcing our summer line-up on our Facebook page really soon.

In the words of All elements; “Peace, Unity, Love and Having Fun!”

Many thanks to Angela at All Elements for spending time with us.

All pictures by EOS .films. (taken at the Bournemouth Family Festival 2012)