Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn received the backing of dozens of Grime and Hip Hop artists in the recent UK elections. London-based rapper Awate met with Saskilla, Novar FLIP, Big Ben, Lady Shocker and more just weeks after the election, to ask their reasons for getting involved in mainstream politics this time round.
Novar FLIP recently featured on the Renagde Inc show to talk about the concept of Carpe Diem Politics and engaging young people in the political system, with philosopher and writer Roman Krznaric.
In this extract from the forthcoming ‘Carpe Diem Politics’ episode of Renegade Inc, Novar FLIP discusses how social media has become a powerful means of getting young people engaged with politics.
UK rapper and activist Lowkey had spoken on the Grenfell Tower fire, stating that, “We should really look at people going to prison for this, because this is criminal”. He speaks about personal friends effected by the incident, including one who is missing and thought to of not survived. Our prayers go out to him and all who have been effected by this horrific tragedy. He states in the above clip, “This has to be the death knell of the Theresa May government. Neoliberalism is discredited, austerity is discredited, it doesn’t have to be this way and it is a matter of life or death”.
Below Lowkey can also be seen speaking with survivor and personal friend Cristos. In this interview they share their traumatic experience of what happened with the Grenfell Tower disaster.
UK rapper Peaky has spoken about the Grenfell Tower fire in a second interview since his passionate appearance on BBC News that went viral days ago. He expanded on the situation stating, “There needs to be more of a care for human life than money right now”. He revealed, “They put flammable panels onto the side of the building” and stood his ground when interrupted on this point. He importantly demanded, “The tenant management organisation in Kensington & Chelsea, they need to be investigated”.
This week on the Flip Life Radio show, Novar FLIP & Big Ben take phone calls to discuss The UK General Election with Sean Dean, Tone, Sofia (Grime 4 Corbyn), Genesis Elijah, Chester P, Josh Cole (Rise Up UK) & Danny Bones.
Novar FLIP presents his Donny Bravo produced musical contribution to the Rize Up campaign that he also helped to set up. The campaign has been engaging young people in politics and the UK general election 2017, with support from Tinie Tempah, Professor Green, Riz Ahmed, Akala, Maverick Sabre, Emeli Sande, Lily Allen, Doc Brown, Brian May, UB40 and many more.
In the last few weeks the #Grime4Corbyn campaign has taken the internet by storm. Kemmi & Sofia join Novar FLIP & Big Ben here for their first ever public interview. They discuss how the movement started, where it could go next, if they would ‘link a Tory?’ and much more.
Keep up with their announcements on the following links:
Listen back to the whole Flip Life Radio episode, also featuring our first ever cypher here:
Tune in to the #FlipLifeRadio show on PyroRadio.com every Friday at 9-11pm
Doc Brown joined us in the build up to the UK general election to discuss getting young people engaged in politics. We touched on his involvement with the Rize Up campaign, the outcome of the forthcoming election, his days hosting the legendary Deal Real record shop events, his new album and much more.
Also check out the full Flip Life Radio episode here: