City of Rhyme

Through hip hop, 14 youths from Recife's favelas speak out against the violence which permeates their lives. Recife is Brazil's most violent city. Child murder is a regular occurrence, tyrannical gangs control daily life and hunger is rife. This group's lyrics condemn that violence and issue a wake-up call to the community.

Latest news

Life for the Brazilian hip hop youth group City of Rhyme has been going "spectacularly well" since it won the 2008 Freedom to Create Youth Prize. Kurt Shaw, an NGO director who nominated City of Rhyme and spoke on their behalf, said that both the financial resources and publicity have helped their work.

The award money is being used to make the favelas of Recife a hub of local innovation, using hip hop to address social problems. Their make-shift studio is becoming a permanent facility with commercial prospects. And because of the publicity generated by the prize, the group has been invited to distribute their music on two popular Internet music sites.

As for DJ Big and Detefon, two stars from City of Rhyme who performed at the 2008 Freedom to Create awards ceremony, they remain committed to their work. DJ Big is managing City of Rhymes expansion and Detefon, once a beneficiary of the project, is now turning to the needs of a new generation of youth.

Freedom to Create is incredibly grateful for the support, partnership, guidance and encouragement that we have received from our amazing supporters, artists, participants, judges and other organisations since we began in 2006. We have made the difficult decision to suspend Freedom to Create's Prize and Exhibitions from 31 December 2011 for a period of strategic evaluation. Thank you for your support and wishing you courage and creativity in all that you do.

close