Hip Hop night hitting the right spot (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Hip Hop night hitting the right spot

10:10am Thursday 2nd April 2009 in

• Skip social links
• Print
• Email
•  

BASINGSTOKE hip hop night Beats n Bars has gone from strength-to-strength since its launch a year ago, and its promoters are working on their vision for the future.

The popular Beats n Bars nights – held roughly once a month usually at Central Studio, at Queen Mary’s College, Basingstoke – were started up on March 29 last year by Patsy Neal and her nephew Richard Reece.

Patsy, of Portway Place, Winklebury, Basingstoke, said: “It’s been breathtaking how it’s taken off. There is such a demand for it and we get good audiences. As soon as we announce a date, our line-up is filled and we are attracting MCs from Fleet and Reading now too.

“We started it up because there are hardly any performance opportunities for hip hop artists in town and I know there are lots of people creating tracks in their bedrooms who don’t have any chance to perform.”

The showcases feature Basingstoke MCs from their teens to their early twenties and are hosted by Richard, 20, himself an MC.

Patsy, 43, added: “We have got people performing now that this time last year were part of the audience, because they saw what others could do – it’s about getting people up there who have the courage and it’s getting quite competitive.”

Keen to expand Patsy, who has a full-time job as a finance manager, said: “We would like to be able to offer workshops to help with rhyming skills, writing backing tracks and the chance to perform without an audience.

“We also want to offer low-cost recording opportunities and to compile a proper CD of all the MCs, there are about 40, and get their music out in Basingstoke.

“But we would really like to find sponsorship, maybe from a local business. Provided people keep enjoying it, we will keep going, but at the moment Beats n Bars is a little indebted to me!”

Beats n Bars will again be programming and hosting a stage at Basingstoke Live, on July 11, putting on six-and-a-half hours of music.

Patsy said: “It’s a very exciting opportunity – we were very young last year and we will showcase as many MCs as possible.”