By Ceasefire Bites

‘Hip Hop Revolución’, a soon to be released film about music, politics and revolution in Venezuela, features Jorney Madriz or ‘Master’ as he is commonly known, a rapper with hip hop group Area 23, based in 23 de enero, one of the most militant barrios in Caracas and a bedrock of Chavez support.

Master and his friend Gustavo Borges are both coordinators of a cultural collective called ‘Hip Hop Revolución’ which organises a yearly political hip hop festival in Caracas featuring groups from all over the world, especially from Latin America. Below is a clip/transcript of Master discussing the genesis and ethos of Area 23.

Below is a clip/transcript of Master discussing the genesis and ethos of Area 23, taken from ‘Hip Hop Revolucion’ co-driector Pablo Navarrete’s documentary ‘Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela’ (2009).

“When Chavez won the election I was 15 years old, now I’m 25, and honestly I didn’t care that Chavez had won. Why? Because Venezuelan youth, myself included, lived in a total political apathy.

Our group, ‘Area 23’ and myself, demonstrate how young people have become interested in investigating and learning about our history, and learning to use the weapons that politics offers us, and how powerful this can be if we use culture to expand these ideas.

As well as performing with area 23, master also works as a producer at Avila TV, a government funded station aimed at young people. Avila TV also has a film school, that Master attended, which gives free year-long film courses to young people with low-incomes, who get to show their work on the channel.

Culture is a train in which ideologies travel, through which our history is disseminated, society’s ideologies are disseminated and also our our protests, and, as such, it should be taken into account. I think that, for too long, marketing and big business has converted culture into something trivial.”

Tonight (Thursday 7th June 2012, 6pm-8pm), Global Steppa will host a fundraiser for  ‘Hip Hop Revolución’  including a free screening of the documentary ‘Inside the Revolution: A Journey into the Heart of Venezuela’, introduced by the director & followed by a Q&A with Jody Mcintyre & Kareem Dennis, who both visited Venezuela last year during the shoot for ‘Hip Hop Revolucion’  – Email  pablo[at]alborada.net to reserve a place.