- By Shenaz Khan, Rakeem Omar
- BBC News, West Midlands
The B-SIDE hip hop festival runs across Birmingham from June 8th to June 14th.
Birmingham is celebrating the 50th anniversary of hip-hop with a massive festival.
The annual B-SIDE festival will take place from June 8th to 14th at several venues around the city, including the Hippodrome.
The event includes dances, musical performances and rap battles in addition to workshops, classes and other events.
Festival producer Ben Pickering said the free festival is a celebration of hip-hop music and culture.
He told BBC Radio WM that the event celebrated four pillars of the genre: breakdancing, graffiti, DJing and MCing.
Free festival celebrates 50 years of hip-hop genre
Launched in 2016, the event also includes dance and creative workshops with international artists, painting sessions for children, and an art mural commemorating 50 years of hip-hop.
“All these events are free for people to attend,” Pickering said, adding that the entire program will be held “right across the city.”
“This is for everyone, it’s a family-centered event, it’s a community.” [and] It’s really good,” he said.
“It’s really open to everyone.”
The seven-day festival kicks off on Thursday with workshops and open mic sessions at the Hippodrome.
An all-day block party will also be held on June 10th.
The festival culminates with a hip-hop dance theater showcase on June 13th and 14th.
“Hip-hop has really changed the world. It’s everywhere, it’s so big, and we’re really excited to celebrate it,” Pickering added.
