Nagaland Hip-Hop Music Festival on August 24 in Kohima

KOHIMA — The Black Rose Enterprise will present the fourth edition of the Nagaland Hip-Hop Music Festival: Inception 3.0, powered by TaFMA and managed by Table-3, on August 24 at RCEMPA, Jotsoma in Kohima.

The festival will kick off with battles and competitions starting at 1 pm, followed by the main concert at 6 pm. This was announced during a press conference on Tuesday at Black Rose Café in Kohima.

LC Sekhose of Table-3, speaking on the occasion, noted that the festival has been a vital platform for showcasing the growing hip-hop scene in Nagaland since its inception in 2019. After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival returns this year with renewed vigour.

The festival will feature 13 artists, headlined by Khasi Bloodz from Meghalaya. Other performers include Tenacious, Savizo, Ning Dang Ri, ZT Slingshot, J Polland, Renbeni, Coffee (NBC), The Knot (SJC), DJ LiL' BomB, Nentong Konyak, Psycho K4, and Meyisanen Lemtur.

This year's event aims to celebrate tribal unity and cultural diversity through music. In addition to the music performances, the festival will host the Nagaland Beatbox Championship in collaboration with the Nagaland Beatbox Community and a dance competition with Lamgrace Studio.

Participants from various states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Chennai, are expected to join.

Sekhose stated that the organisers anticipate an audience of around 1,000 attendees.

Tickets, priced at INR 300 each, will be available at Black Rose Café, D Café, Garden of Eaten, Kindred, Café Eva, and RCEMPA in Kohima. A ticket giveaway is also planned.

There will be limited slots for stalls offering food, beverages, coffee, and merchandise. Interested vendors should contact the organisers to secure a stall at the venue.

Lamgrace Touthang, proprietor of Lamgrace Dance Studio, announced that the dance competition will feature solo, duo, and group performances exclusively in hip-hop genres. A cash prize of INR 20,000 has been set aside for the winner. The competition will consist of two rounds: auditions and finals.

It was announced that, in addition to the winner, the other two top participants will receive direct entry to the Hornbill Dance Off along with gift hampers.

Registrations are underway, and participants from various states are expected. The top 12 participants from the online auditions will compete in the grand finale. Auditions close on August 8.

David Rutsa, president of the Nagaland Beatbox Community, announced a cash prize of INR 25,000 for the beatbox competition. There will be first and second place winners, with around 16 participants selected from across India. Auditions close on August 17, and results will be announced on August 18.

Singer Moko Koza, addressing the media, described the journey of Table-3, which was formed in 2017 by like-minded artists, including himself and Sekhose, all with a hip-hop background. He emphasised that hip-hop culture, though influenced by Western traditions, often represents local identities.

For more information, one can reach out to the organisers on their Instagram account, @table_317417.

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