Uganda was represented positively this past week when Hiphop artist Tekya “Abramz” Abraham featured repeatedly on CNN's African Voices for creating positive social change. “It’s great to be internationally recognized for doing meaningful work at home,” said Abramz.
Abramz came from a challenging but familiar background. He was orphaned at an early age and struggled for school fees while growing up in Makindye and Kasubi. He empowered himself through Hiphop and formed a rap duo with his brother Sylvester in the 90's, and then founded Breakdance Project Uganda in 2006 to empower Ugandan youth.
Abramz was the major focus of the international award-winning documentary film “Bouncing Cats,” released in 2010, which was directed by Nabil Elderkin and sponsored by Red Bull. It was narrated by Hiphop artist Common, and featured Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew, K'naan, Mos Def and Will.I.Am.
Since the release of Bouncing Cats, Abramz has travelled around the world and become one of the best known Ugandan artists abroad for his social relevance, though he is still underground at home. Abramz has been featured on BBC, The Huffington Post, The National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and others. He and BPU were also featured in the recently released Hiphop film “Shake The Dust,” produced by the American Hiphop artist Nas and Adam Sjoberg.
Abramz has travelled to perform, speak and facilitate workshops in Zanzibar, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Senegal, Poland, Italy, Austria, South Africa, USA, Germany, Mozambique and Swaziland. He will spend the next month in Switzerland and Germany working with YAEP! and Break-Through Festival.
Abramz was first featured on CNN in 2012 on Breaking News. They sought him out again in 2015 for the half-hour documentary on African Voices, after being inspired by his work motivating tens of thousands of Ugandan youth toward education, responsibility and positive social change.
The CNN team travelled to Uganda in March and followed Abramz for a week as he performed at a Viva Con Agua benefit concert and taught dance at the Sharing Youth Centre, where BPU holds free sessions every Monday and Wednesday.
The global response to Abramz's story has been overwhelming. Ugandans both home and abroad expressed relief at seeing a good story about Uganda on global media. Abramz said of the experience: “it’s funny that I get so much international recognition for the work I do in Uganda, but so little mainstream media attention here at home.”
Watch Part 1: Hip hop beats empower Kampala streets
Watch Part 2: Let me educate you: rapping about slum life
Watch Part 3: Breakdancers unite a community
Abramz came from a challenging but familiar background. He was orphaned at an early age and struggled for school fees while growing up in Makindye and Kasubi. He empowered himself through Hiphop and formed a rap duo with his brother Sylvester in the 90's, and then founded Breakdance Project Uganda in 2006 to empower Ugandan youth.
Abramz was the major focus of the international award-winning documentary film “Bouncing Cats,” released in 2010, which was directed by Nabil Elderkin and sponsored by Red Bull. It was narrated by Hiphop artist Common, and featured Crazy Legs of the Rock Steady Crew, K'naan, Mos Def and Will.I.Am.
Since the release of Bouncing Cats, Abramz has travelled around the world and become one of the best known Ugandan artists abroad for his social relevance, though he is still underground at home. Abramz has been featured on BBC, The Huffington Post, The National Geographic, Discovery Channel, and others. He and BPU were also featured in the recently released Hiphop film “Shake The Dust,” produced by the American Hiphop artist Nas and Adam Sjoberg.
Abramz has travelled to perform, speak and facilitate workshops in Zanzibar, Burkina Faso, Denmark, Senegal, Poland, Italy, Austria, South Africa, USA, Germany, Mozambique and Swaziland. He will spend the next month in Switzerland and Germany working with YAEP! and Break-Through Festival.
Abramz was first featured on CNN in 2012 on Breaking News. They sought him out again in 2015 for the half-hour documentary on African Voices, after being inspired by his work motivating tens of thousands of Ugandan youth toward education, responsibility and positive social change.
The CNN team travelled to Uganda in March and followed Abramz for a week as he performed at a Viva Con Agua benefit concert and taught dance at the Sharing Youth Centre, where BPU holds free sessions every Monday and Wednesday.
The global response to Abramz's story has been overwhelming. Ugandans both home and abroad expressed relief at seeing a good story about Uganda on global media. Abramz said of the experience: “it’s funny that I get so much international recognition for the work I do in Uganda, but so little mainstream media attention here at home.”
Watch Part 1: Hip hop beats empower Kampala streets
Watch Part 2: Let me educate you: rapping about slum life
Watch Part 3: Breakdancers unite a community
