B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival 2017

This is a past event and is currently no longer running.

It's back!

Enjoy the best from national and international artists plus the city's finest local Hip-Hop talents

FREE

Our annual FREE festival returned in May for its second year, celebrating all things Hip-Hop.

An entire weekend of dance and music performances, battles and graffiti art – all to the sounds of the festival from live DJs.

With appearances from the best national and international artists and some of the city’s finest Hip-Hop talents.

Watch the trailer for 2017!

Midlands Ultimate Street Dance Crew Competition

Calling all street dance crews!
Can you street dance? Can you freestyle as well as showcase the best routines? Want to perform on the main stage at Birmingham Hippodrome?

Enter the competition and see if you have what it takes to be crowned Midlands Ultimate Street dance Crew!

MORE INFO...

B-SIDE Lab with Marso (18+)

Mon 15 - Fri 19 May
FREE

Award winning choreographer/Director Mickael Marso Riviere will direct and curate a multidisciplinary research lab project for emerging and semi to professional Artists. 5 days research with performance opportunities Friday night for the opening of B-SIDE Hip-Hop Festival....

B-SIDE Welcome Jam

Fri 19 May, 6.30-10
The Patrick Centre
FREE - Book in advance

We kick off the weekend festival with a dynamic conversation and Q&A that explores Birmingham’s independent and vibrant contribution to global Hip-Hop culture. Leading speakers and performers from both the city and wider international stage, will be present....

Break Mission x Just Jam International

Sat 20 & Sun 21 May
FREE

Two exciting days of dance battles from Breaking, Hip Hop and Poppin’, to MCs and DJs bringing you the ultimate Hip-Hop experience! If you want to participate or watch - all you have to do is donate food or clothes which go towards helping the local community in Birmingham. ...

Graff Jam

Sat 20 May – Hurst St
Sun 21 May - Main Foyer/Hippodrome Square
FREE

This year we are excited to host a full weekend of indoor and outdoor live Graffiti art and workshops featuring some of the art forms finest. We welcome Graffittiartist.com and the legendary T – kid from New York plus others....

N9ty Showcase

Sat 20 May, 4.30-5
PwC Suite
FREE

A multi-media artist pushing boundaries in graphic design, music and graffiti, N9ty will showcase his work as designer of So-Solid Crew’s infamous logo, collaborations with Midlands artists, as well as his own Hip-Hop history and connections to Afrofuturism....

Benji Reid - The Holiday

Sat 20 May, 5 - 7.30
Studio 5
FREE First come, First served

The Holiday is a combination of comedy and tragedy in equal parts, seeing through the eyes of a young man contemplating suicide through poetry, dance, singing and live music....

What is Afrofuturism?

Sat 20 May, 5-7
PwC Suite
FREE

AfroFlux is an exploration of Afrofuturism and its many connections to the Hip-Hop subculture. We will be shining, sharing, reflecting and celebrating all that Afrofuturism is and can be through films, talks and performances....

KRE8! Experimental Dance Battle

Qualifiers – Sat 20 May, 6-8
Finals – Sunday 21 May, 7–7.30
Hippodrome main stage
FREE

KRE8! is a creative and experimental dance battle contest as a 2vs2 Bonnie and Clyde (Male+Female) format. ...

Afroflux Comic Convention

Sun 21 May, 11-3
Stalls Foyer
FREE

AfroFutures_UK and AfroFlux are pleased to present the first ever FluxCon, a mini convention celebrating all that’s good in comics, indie games, animation and speculative fiction....

7 to Spoke: Spoken word/Rap battle

Sun 21 May, 2-3
Hippodrome Main Stage
FREE

Spoken word under a new light!
A King or Queen stands head on to a line of 7 participants and must try and keep their role through each 1 minute round. Should they lose, they go to the back of the line and the new victor becomes King or Queen...

Live DJ |set

Sun 21 May, 3.15-4
Hippodrome Foyers
FREE

See DJ Latifah Stone, lover of all styles of up-tempo Black music and the explosive DJ Nucleo live!...

Bones to Stones

Sun 21 May, 3.15-4
Hippodrome Square
FREE

Separating the men from the boys! Come and battle your way through the concrete or watch the story unfold to see who becomes number one on the floor. Winner receives a graffiti jacket....

7 to Smoke: Underrated Bboys & Bgirls

Sun 21 May, 5 – 5.30
Hippodrome Main Stage
FREE

8 Bboys/Bgirls will be secretly selected during the Breakin’ Battles at the Break Mission event on Sat. Selections will be made from those who have not made the finals, but in the eyes of the judges deserve a second chance. They will then go head to head on the Hippodrome’s main stage!...

Florence Okoye’s ‘Neo-Mmanwu’ Workshop

Sat 20 May, 10 – 12.30
PwC Suite
FREE

This visual art workshop explores masks and their places in traditional African cultures and how they still feature in modern society. Neo-Mmanwu is a project exploring how the African diaspora have adapted the masquerade to speak for them....

Graffiti Workshop with Posca (8+)

Sat 20 May, 12.30-4.30
PwC Suite
FREE

Have a go at creating your own striking and inventive graffiti letters and characters using childsafe Posca pens. ...

Benji Reid's Hip-Hop Workshop (15+)

Sat 20 May, 2.30-4.30
DanceXchange Studio 3
£10 - BOOK IN ADVANCE

An introduction into the practicalities of using physical movement and the use of poetry and songs as well as exploring the use of lighting and live music for a performance. Also discover how you can take a personal moment in life to create universal narratives in performing....

Ronke Fadare: Afroflux Dance Workshop (12+)

Sat 20 May, 4 – 6
DanceXchange Studio 2
FREE

Ronke is a fully accomplished dancer, choreographer and youth worker who fuses Hip-Hop, Afrikan dance, Contemporary and Capoiera to great effect. Ronke's workshop will deal with the blend of styles that make up Hip-Hop to bring about a new way of expression through dance. ...

Latifah Stone: Women, Hip-Hop & Afrofuturism Workshop

Sun 21 May, 11-1
PwC Suite
FREE

Aimed at females aged 13 +, but open to anyone, this DJ display and workshop will detail the varied roles of women in Hip-Hop and Afrofuturism. Latifah will play some of her songs to showcase her research and encourage discussion of ideas for a better tomorrow. ...

Sweat the Technique Workshops (8+)

Sun 21 May
£10 - BOOK IN ADVANCE

Learn from world-class dancers in these exciting masterclasses. Secure your place – limited spaces available.

Breaking: Freeze & PoeOne: 11-12.30
Poppin’: Boogie Franktik: 1-2.30
Hip-Hop: Link: 2.30-4...

Dance Workshop with Link Bink

Sun 21st May, 12.30 – 2.30pm
Studio 5
£10 - BOOK IN ADVANCE

Link Berthomieux, is a hip-hop and contemporary dancer, who has developed his own style connecting street-dance and contemporary dance over several years.
He has been working internationally with several French companies and is well-known in the hip-hop battle community. Any levels and styles welcome....