The exhibition "Memory Lane - 40 years of hip-hop" soon in Zagreb

The most prominent regional hip-hop activist and DJ, Phat Phillie, will hold a large collector’s exhibition “Memory Lane – 40 years of hip-hop” from February 25th to March 21st in the beautiful interior of the Liszt Institute (Hungarian Cultural Center, European Square). All fans of hip-hop and urban culture should not miss this event, which will include the presentation of the Zagreb Rap Demo (1985-1992) compilation, a catalog of his memorabilia collection and the presentation of the winners of the She Raps competition from Portugal, Belgium, France, Slovenia and Montenegro. The international flair of this exhibition will certainly be enhanced by the exhibits of Hungarian collectors DJ GYöReMiX! and Krisztian Kindler, which visitors will be able to enjoy on the first floor of the Liszt Institute. Many additional content that is in the works will be announced soon, and it is certainly worth noting that admission will be free for all visitors.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Phat Phillie started digitizing old radio shows “Electro-Funk Premijer” and “Rap Attack” by Slavin Balen from the former Radio 101. There he found incredible, never published rap demos from Zagreb and he decided to restore, master and release it on the compilation “Zagreb Rap Demo (1985 – 1992)”. For the first time, visitors will have the opportunity to hear the first rap generation from recorded demo materials only so that they could be played in Slavin’s show. That’s how the names such as M.C. Be-Bop Dodo, The Silent Bomb, Master Cheops, DIFFO, W.F.P., Fresh Style and ET can be found for the first time on the official release: limited edition cassette, double vinyl and all digital platforms. The album, featuring 16 previously unreleased songs, including original radio announcements by the aforementioned doyen of Croatian hip-hop, Slavin Balen, is currently in work process and will be released by the Blackout Hip-Hop Association and Dallas Records.

While the first foundations of hip-hop culture were being laid in Croatia and Yugoslavia in the first half of the 1980s, a similar process was taking place in Hungary. The very beginnings can certainly be considered the release of the song “Lépjük a léplék” by Miklós Fenyő in 1983, which, as the first local breakdance song, marked the introduction of the fundamental elements of this genre. In the context of this event, it is certainly worth noting that exactly 30 years ago in 1995, the first significant hip-hop record store, Hip Hop Syndicate, opened in Budapest (and thus in Hungary), where the co-author of the exhibition DJ GYöReMiX! was the store manager and the main source of hip-hop information, attracting many culture enthusiasts. At the same time, the production of mixtapes, records, and later CDs began, which greatly contributed to the spread of hip-hop culture in our neighboring country.

Due to the extensiveness of Philly’s collection, and especially the very personal stories and testimonies that has lived through several decades of active participation in the hip-hop scene, as part of the bit exhibition will also present a 48-page catalog with selected memorabilia. Significant guarantee of the quality of this edition was certainly given by the famous Belgrade photographer with his photographs photographer Marko Obradović Edge, and it will also feature exhibits from Hungary. The international EU project She Raps, which aims to empower and professionalization is already quite advanced in its process, and on this occasion winners of national competitions from Belgium (Raivy, Kari Bee), France (2L, Yelsha, Yend), Portugal (Tsuki, Mary M, Vanessa Parish Crooks), Slovenia (Saharaya) and Montenegro (Eli Džejn) are coming to Zagreb to meet for the first time and record together song with celebrated producer Koolade in the United Pop Academy studio. Their performance is scheduled for Wednesday, February 26th at the Liszt Institute and is definitely worth supporting. The main partner of the entire project, Monkey Shoulder, has provided a welcome drink for all visitors. It is worth noting that the exhibition was also supported by the Turisticka zajednica grada Zagreba, while the visual identity was created by the creative agency Stožer.