Music4Justice Featured Artist – EWOK

As we ramp up activities before the Friday launch of the amazing CD put together by the awesome crew here in SA, and featuring artists from around the world, we’ve just been given a sneak peek at some of the tracks…so ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to the first of our fantastic artists:

Iain EWOK Robinson a.k.a. Creamy Ewok Baggends is a 28yr old Hip Hop flavoured Spoken Word activist out of “Poison City” Durban, South Africa.  Having established himself on the SA scene as a young freestyle battle rapper, and later as a Spoken Word SLAM champion, his career through Hip Hop Culture and professional theatre has led him to discover bigger battles to be fought.  As an award winning writer and performer, as a published poet and recording artist, and as a professional aerosol artist, he has established himself as a South African Hip Hop head, for life.

EWOK has produced the fantastic track Shame on the Game (click the link to listen) for our campaign.

Check out some of the epic lyrics:

“I’m not talking to the people in the stands on the side / the people that’ll need a little hope in their lives / i’m not talking to the kids who wanna see the stars / wanna see a future without death or jail bars / i’m not talking to the coach / i’m not talking to the team / i’m talking to the money men behind the screen / i’m trying to stop another dummy move getting past / i’m looking for some answers to some questions I ask / like who built the bullets who built the guns / they aimed at his back while Hector runs / who built the Casspirs that rolled in the street when they had the people pushed to the edge of defeat / who made the machine who makes the device / who plays for profit and who pays the price / who built the system and who supplied it / who knows the truth and who denies it / it’s over / done with it / no more lies / we’re playing with our balls while they’re playing with our lives / they come disguised like they’re playing for our side but the minute that it’s finished they’re the first to vai / ayo / on to the next one like Jika / they built the weapon and we pulled the trigger / the pictures bigger than the game that’s played / they sold back then and they’re still getting paid.”

For those of you heading to the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, EWOK will be performing his new multimedia show “IainEWOKrobinson is LIVE!”…the first show is on 20 June at St Andrews Hall, and tickets are discounted for the kickoff performance.

Music 4 Justice

As part of the movement to demand justice musicians and hip hop artists from around the world have joined forces to support the Khulumani Support Group and its campaign for corporate accountability. We’ll be adding their songs and giving updates about their activities on the Music 4 Justice page – so check that out for your dose of Hip Hop activism!

A BIG thank you to the guys on the ground who have been driving this part of the campaign! Watch this space for details of the CD Launch this Friday…

One of the key organisations helping out with the music is NomadicWax an African-focussed hip hop and social activism record label. Check out this BBC article about the label and some of its other work.

Here’s a sneak-peek of some of the international artists that have contributed to the album:

– Italian Hip Hop artists Zero Plastica and El V and the Gardenhouse

– US Hip Hop artist Zee Santiago

– Ugandan Hip Hop activist Babaluku

All this alongside fantastic SA musicians from across the country…

Join the movement. Listen to the music. Take action to demand corporate accountability.