Living Music and Cultural Infusion present the official Underground Loop CD launch: Thursday August 30 from 7pm at The Crom, 138 Cromwell Street, Collingwood

Underground Loop is a groundbreaking mentorship program which has facilitated collaborations between leading Australian hip hop artists and young males at risk and within Victoria’s Juvenile Justice System.

The Underground Loop CD features 22 compelling and boundary-pushing original tracks straight out of hip hop’s real underground.

Performances on the night by In Da Scene, DTR Click, TTF and MCs Savier, Barbone, Sapress, Faith, Dececrate, City and Struhs will give an enthralling taste of the talent that has come up through the project, and the powerful messages and stories of the young hip hop artists who have found a voice through the Underground Loop. The launch will be hosted by MC Litigate, and special guests on the night include Elf Tranzporter, Fluid, Julez, Rhyno, Tom-Tom, Mantra and DJ Wasabi.

The launch event is a City of Yarra FReeZA event and is a fully supervised, drug and alcohol free event

The Underground Loop CD is the result of collaborations between 22 young males aged 15-21 and mentors such as Tom-Tom and Rhyno (True Live), Paso Bionic (Curse Ov Dialect), Mantra (Equills, The Herd) DJ Wasabi (Illzilla, Combat Wombat) and other established DJs, MCs, musicians and producers on the Australian hip hop scene.

The mentors have guided the young people — some of whom are in detention, others on community based orders — as they worked up their skills in songwriting, rapping, beats, production, recording and performance. Many of the mentors and mentorees have described their involvement in the Underground Loop as life-changing and long-lasting friendships have been made as a result of the exchange of knowledge, ideas, life experiences and cultural sharing.

According to MC Litigate from hip hop outfit Fizard, being an Underground Loop mentor was “a great process, and a mutually rewarding experience.”

It was really cool to see the guys I worked with develop into a force of their own. For the guys who are locked up, some of them for a long time, this was literally the biggest opportunity they’ve had in their lives and they were jumping off the walls in excitement that they would have a voice to reach the outside world with and get a track out there that people would hear. Underground Loop is absolutely changing lives and helping young artists really achieve their goals in so many areas — performance, recording, business, everything. MC Litigate

Underground Loop is funded by Arts Victoria and the Australia Council and managed in partnership by two community music programs: the Gateway Artful Dodgers Music Program run by Jesuit Social Services, and the In-House Music Program run by Living Music.

The In-House Music Program works with young people in the Juvenile Justice System of Victoria, nurturing their interest in music through songwriting and recording workshops, one-on-one training, performances, work experience and traineeships. The Artful Dodgers Studios provide innovative and creative spaces for young people whose lives have been affected by difficult circumstances.

Hip hop is the perfect outlet for young males in detention and at risk. Apart from their love for the music and the skills they’ve developed in the studio and performance, the hip hop community has a lot to offer in terms of social connectivity, openness to people from different backgrounds, and the emphasis in hip hop on honesty and being real, being true to yourself. All the young guys and the mentors have gained so much from the experience and it’s been really fulfilling to witness the development of each individual’s voice and the relationships that have come about as a result of the project. John Favaro, Project Manager Living Music