Emile YX? Awarded Honourary Awards from South African Hip Hop Awards 2014 & Iconic Urban Dance Awards 2014

Emile YX? Awarded Honourary Awards from South African Hip Hop Awards 2014 & Iconic Urban Dance Awards 2014

I started dancing in 1980, like Michael Jackson and in 1982 moved on to Popping and then B-boying or as we knew it back then, Break-dancing. my first crew was called ... and later that changed and we formed the Pop Glide Crew.

These b-boys went on to form groups like Furious Floor Rockers, who later became Black Noise. I am writing a book about my whole experience in Hip Hop and will share that everyone early in next year. It is called "Making A Black Noise". In the meantime, here is a copy of the activities that I have been involved with since way back then.

Biography of Emile YX?

Emile YX? (www.emileyx.co.za) is often considered to be one of the Pioneers or Godfathers of South African Hip Hop and is a founder member of the legendary South African Hip Hop Group, Black Noise (www.blacknoise.co.za). He is best known for his developmental work and community outreach projects like the Heal the Hood Project (www.healthehood.org.za ) and hosting events like African Hip Hop Indaba, Battle of the Year, Shut Up Just Dance, African Battle Cry, Cape Flats Uprising, Surf Day, Up The Rock and Freestyle Session.

Emile YX? is also known for being a founding member of legendary Black Noise Hip Hop Group and his work on eTVs “Step Up or Step Out”, but he has helped to raised money for and sent 159 young people to travel to international events globally. He has recorded and released 12 albums with Black Noise, 6 solo Emile YX? Albums, 1 Afrikaaps soundtrack, 9 compilation albums, 7 Heal the Hood compilation albums and helped 6 local artists release their solo albums. Emile started South Africa’s first Hip Hop magazine “Da Juice” and wrote 3 books. He also helped graffiti artists Falko and Mak1 to release their own magazines and a compilation of Rhymes, Articles, Poetry, Short Stories and Sketches R.A.P.S.S. His achievements are too many to list, so we decided to list them by year below:-

1982 Emile started break-dancing with Pop Glide Crew & is thus one of South Africa’s Hip Hop Pioneers

1988 Emile makes it to the regional finals of the Shell Road to Fame with “the Chill Convention, who later that year becomes the legendary South African Hip Hop Group, Black Noise - Emile qualified as a school teacher and taught at Battswood Primary

1989 Black Noise wins the Mayors Award for Greening the City rhyme

1990 Black Noise as they win “Most Promising New Artists” in Super-curl Contest and end up performing with Yvonne Chaka Chaka

1991 Emile and Black Noise self- funded a tour to JHB to explore their own record deal and performed with Brenda Fassie & Marc Alex. Tour to Johannesburg

1992 Emile and Black Noise signed a record deal with Tusk Records & release Black Noise 1^st Album “Pumpin’ Loose Da Juice”

1993 Emile decided to leave formal teaching & teach through Hip Hop

South Africa’s first Hip Hop Magazine Da Juice Magazine

Released Black Noise 2^nd Album as cassette “Rebirth “ as the first self-funded album

Black Noise song Dance in the Party selected for Monster Hits Compilation 2

Black Noise song “A Day After” reaches No.1 on Radio Metro Top 10

Black Noise perform with 2Unlimited and Duran Duran

1993 - Da Juice Magazine

National Tours for Album launch

1993 - Tarro leaves

1993 - Mikey leaves

1993 - Marley and Emile discuss focus of BN

1993 - Searching for new members Ray and Gavin – 1993

1993 -            ANC election campaign, first democratic election

Voters Education regional tour

1994 Black Noise Helped with Voters Education before South Africa’s first democratic election campaign before our countries first & 2^nd election

Do For Self Concerts and Concept is born

Performed at the Cape Town Inauguration of Nelson Mandela

Emile attends Universal Zulu (Hip Hop) Nation Anniversary in New York, USA

Emile & Black Noise perform with Shabba Ranks

1994 -            Trip to Zulu Nation Anniversary

1994 -            1994 - Warro and Ernie leaves BN – Jacking the equipment for cash

Doing for Self & Others

Library Tour

Emile releases Black Noise 3^rd Album, “Black Facts” in St Louis Missouri, USA

1995 Emile & Black Noise were part of a movie about youth globally called Juvenis and performed in Sweden for the UN 50^th Anniversary

released Black Noise 2^nd Album as a CD “Rebirth” in South Africa

1995 -            Do For Self Jams

1995 -            Universal Hip Hop Nation

Rebirth of Mind and Hip Hop Culture

Tape independent release

Finding the new character for BN

Prep for the recording at Desirees place , the Farm

Prep of the new show

Developing the Do For Self Concert and Album - 1995

Falco joins BN for 4^th element of hip hop

International connection

Ray and the Swedish connection. Global Youth Movie Juvenis

Sponsorship by Adidas

1995 -            Swedish Tour

Master on DAT pressed as payment

CD released in 1995

Black Facts , Tape release with Birthright records in St Louis Missouri

1996 Emile created 30 day holiday programme,  African Battle Cry that still runs in December every year released Black Noise 4^th Album, as a cassette “ Questions”

1997 Emile was part of Black Noise Team that won 3^rd place at World Break-dance Championships in Germany

toured South Africa with Senegalese Rap Group “Positive Black Soul”

as part of Robben Island Artist in Residence programme Emile, Black Noise and Mike-T-Frank create a song about the race issues between so-called coloureds & so-called Blacks. The song is named “Nobody Knows”

Launch African Battle Cry to teach hip hop in South Africa

Emile tours with Black Noise to Namibia & Belgium

1998 Emile created a NPO called Heal the Hood Project and toured SA to teach Hip Hop

Brought (Brazilian Martial Arts) ABADA Capoeira to South Africa which now run by Angolan Belesa who teaches in and around Cape Town

released Black Noise 5^th Album “Hip Hop Won’t Stop”

Tour Sweden and Germany

performed with Manu Dibangu

1999 Hosted South Africa’s first National Break-dance Champs to select S.A. team

Co-owned the first Hip Hop Shop in Cape Town called “The Hip Hop Corner”

Toured nationally to promote hip hop especially break-dancing

11 – 21 October 1999 – Tour Ireland with Angelo and Daniel van Wyk

2000 created an annual Hip Hop Event called “African Hip Hop Indaba”

S.A. leg of World Break-dance

Emile is part of the South African Team that wins 4^th at the World Break-dance Champs

Released Black Noise 6^th Album “Circles of Fire”

2001 Emile was invited to represent South Africa at NJPAC in the USA. Invited to be on a panel about International Hip Hop at Harvard.

won the Blunt Skate Magazine Activist of the Year

Emile helps Black Noise to be one of the first 8 groups to get funded by MMINO

Emile started to help other artist get recorded at the African Hip Hop Indaba. He has since compiled 6 compilation CDs released in small quantities. He also released CDs for Plain Madnizz, Isaac Mutant, Lionz of Zion, Conquering Lions, Jamayka Poston and Ancient Men.

2002 Emile helped Black Noise sign a deal in Sweden and release their 7^th Album “Rotational High” with Integral Music AB

Tour Sweden and established Heal the Hood Sweden, with Jenny Berg

Emile performed with Black Noise at Black August with Black Thought, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez

2003 Emile release his first solo album “Who Am I?”

Emile release his second book named “My Hip Hop is African and Proud”

Performed at Alsang Pa Skansen, a huge Swedish National live TV broadcast

2004 Emile created and release South Africa’s first Hip Hop DVDs Vol#1

released Black Noise 8^th Album, “Jam Sessions”

Emile tour Sweden, Holland, Norway and released “Jam Sessions” & Hip Hop How To DVD with Black Noise

Emile & Black Noise perform with Joe & assisted the ANC election campaign

2005 Emile created and release South Africa’s 2^nd Hip Hop DVDs Vol#2

Tour Norway and Sweden

Emile creates a book called R.A.P.S.S which stands for Rhymes Articles, Poetry, Short Stories and Sketches that gives a voice to young peoples stories from the cape flats communities.

2006 Emile presented a talk at UCT International Confluences Dance Conference.
-wrote 3 books “What is Hip Hop?”, “My Hip Hop is African and Proud” and “Conscious Rhymes for Unconscious Minds”
-created a break-dance/b-boy syllabus and taught others how to teach
- released 5 solo CDs as Emile YX?
- Created events like African Battle Cry, Freestyle Session, Battle of the Year South Africa, R16 SA, Our Hip Hip, Shut Up Just Dance,
- Released more than 15 local DVDs

released Black Noise 9^th Album, “ Getcha on the Floor”

released Emile YX? & Jamayka Poston collaborative album between South Africa and Angola addressing the issues like racism, Afro-phobia, Xenophobic attacks etc and the album was called Conquering Lions

2007 I presented a talk about International Hip Hop at Harvard University, USA

Emile was asked to judge at the World Finals of Red Bull BC1 in JHB

Tour Schools as part of Anti – tik drug Campaign on the Cape Flats
– Emile YX? releases 2^nd Solo Album, ROAR – Live it Loud
– Emile YX? wins Community Builder Award

Emile YX? tours Heal the Hood to Norway, Italy and England

2008 Emile helps Black Noise to release their 10^th Album Best of Black Noise, Vol.#1

Emile released his 2^nd solo album called Roar – live it loud, African and Proud

Emile helped young break-dancers travel to be a part of Afrika! Afrika! a travelling creative platform that toured Europe for 4 years

2009 Emile wrote a break-dance syllabus called “B-Boy Grade 1” and taught and graded more than 100 youths for free.

2010 Emile was part of a team that created “Afrikaaps” a musical play about the untold black history of the Afrikaans language which went on to win numerous local and international awards. A documentary was also made of the play & won

Best Production, nomination for Best new Afrikaans Production, Kanna KKNK Nominations 2010 nomination for Beste KKNK-Debuutwerk, nomination for Beste Aanbieding

Afrikaaps documentary won Encounters Film Festival – Cape Town 2010 Audience Award , Runner Up Best SA Documentary

asked to represent SA on Anti-World Cup song and then toured the USA
- Emile assisted in the creation of a documentary about the work done by Heal the Hood called “From B-boys to Being Men” which has already been screened in Austria, USA and Sweden
- Was part of a documentary about artist activists in South Africa called “Creators”

Emile helped to release Black Noise 11^th Album, “ Stone Garden Soldiers”

Emile releases his 3^rd solo album named Conscious Rhymes for Unconscious Times

Emile also won the Western Cape Arts & Culture Award for his Contribution to Literary Arts in 2011

2011 -
- selected from national audition as a Judge for reality TV show on eTV called Step up or Step Out
- ran for Ward Councillor in Grassy Park
- Heal the Hood were Awarded by Words Beats and Life with the award for “Hip Hop Organisation of the Year”
- toured the play Afrikaaps for a month in Amsterdam
- student from Heal the Hood syllabus chosen to create a similar project for regional government and is teaching in schools throughout western cape while creating jobs for other youth as well at various schools

Afrikaaps won Kyknet Fiesta Awards ( SA) 2011 Moenier Adams – Best upcoming artist & professional debut, Best Musically Driven Production, Kanna KKNK Awards (SA) 2011 Moenier Adams; Beste Opkomende Professionele Kunstenaar.

Afrikaaps director Dylan Valley was nominated as Best Director at 6^th annual SAFTA (South African Film & Television) Awards 2011as well as Fleur du Cap Awards 2011 nomination for Best new South African Script. Afrikaaps documentary won an Award from Keuze van de WijkJury Amsterdam 2012 for Beste Voorstelling Amsterdam 2011/12, Babel Film Festival Sardinia

Italy 2011 Best Film, CWFF (Cape Winelands Film Festival) Awards 2011 Best new South African Documentary

Emile releases an album with Afrikaaps as a soundtrack to the play

2012 Emile created South Africa’s first Hip Hop dance production called Mixing it Up and showcased 16 dancers in Cape Town and Johannesburg
- selected to judge for the 2^nd season of eTVs Step Up or Step Out
- Youth I taught from Lavender Hill are now paid by Heal the Hood to teach workshops after School hours  for free to marginalised youth
- Created a group with Lavender Hill youth called Mixed Mense. Emile released his 4^th solo album “Born & Bred on the Cape Flats”

2013

Emile released his 5^th album with Mixed Mense
. He was also selected as a judge for the 3^rd season of ETVs Step Up or Step Out
 - created second Hip Hop play called “BREAK” & showcased it at Artscape - nominated for Hip Hop Pioneer of the Year, International Award
- Performed with Mixed Mense at Darling Voorkamerfees
- Emile and Mixed Mense assist Natural Justice with creating a Theater of the Oppressed drama piece to perform to the Bushman community and get to perform at the grave-side of Ooom Dawid Kruiper while in the Kalahari -  Emile’s track “The Rhythm” selected for Battle of the Year 2013 Soundtrack

2014

Emile started the year preparing Heal the Hood Project to become more focused and created round-table discussions to increase the network of NGO’s in the Western Cape working with youth. Emile was then also invited to create a song at !Khwattu for Infecting the City. In March he organized for Black Noise to perform in the USA at The Kennedy Center as part of the One Mic Global Hip Hop Festival. Emile both performed and spoke of a panel about community activism. He then also performed and spoke on panels at Trinity International Hip Hop Festival in Connecticut. Emile also travelled to San Francisco to speak about Princess Vlei, as well as the affect Knowledge of Self has had on his life, work and interactions with Hip Hop and its community. Afrikaaps, the play, was hosted at Artscape. Recorded “Set Your Goals Up High” for Mxit and Marikana Massacre. The Mxit song got 37000 downloads in a week. Initiated the 1^st Annual Heal the Hood Hip Hop Lectures at UWC, as part of African Hip Hop Indaba 2014.

Emile has thus far helped to raise money and sent 163 youth artists to international events toured and taught Hip Hop and anti-racism in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Ireland, Belgium, Holland, England, Italy, USA, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe

Emile also performed on same stages as Robbie Jansen, Hilton Schilder, Prophets of Da City, Manu Dibungo, Salif Keita, Baba Maal, Brenda Fassie, Shabba Ranks, Dr Alban, Duran Duran, 2Unlimited, Snoop Doggy Dog, Pharrel, Joe, Shaggy, Mario, Arrested Development, HHP, Kurt Darren, Steve Hoffmeyer, Black Thought of the Roots, Talib Kweli, Dead Prez, Kyle Sheperd, Jitsvinger, Shane Cooper, Vicky Sampson, Jennifer Jones, Zane Adams, The Boyz, K’naan, Dr Victor, Freshly Ground, Sons of Selassie and many more