One of South Africa's longest running and biggest hip-hop and street culture festival, Back To The City took place last Saturday on the country's Freedom Day, as is the case every year.
As usual, it was a celebration of hip-hop and all its elements. On the main stage, the country's biggest hip-hop artists alongside up-and-coming acts kept heads entertained throughout the course of the festival. This happened while aspiring rappers, producers and dancers battled it out on the Play stage, while street artists conjured colorful characters on the pillars of the bridge above Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, which is located in the Joburg CBD. The hip-hop summit also took place as part of the festival, and aspiring artists, managers and fans gathered to discuss the industry's goings on.
Back To The City will always be a unique festival in that the organizers make an effort to include the most popular acts to the most niche, all on the same stage. You don't see that with many hip-hop events in the country.
Outstanding performances this year came from the likes of Stogie T, Riky Rick, YoungstaCPT, Moozlie, Nadia Nakai, Touchline, Cassper Nyovest, among many others. This year's international headliner was EPMD, who entertained fans of the golden era. Below are some pics from the festival.Performances
EPMD. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Stogie T. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Otarel. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Lex LaFoy. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Bantu Speaking. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Kay-E. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Jimmy Wiz. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
YoungstaCPT. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Nadia Nakai. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
2Lee Stark. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Champagne 69. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Touchline. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Boity. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Moozlie. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Emile YX?. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
MegMafia. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Morafe. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Siba. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Faces, Street Art and Basketball
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Jay Stash. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Kay-E. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
The Play stage. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
Assessa. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
The panelists of the hip-hop summit. Photo by Sabelo Mkhabela.
