Chyno with a Why? Takes ‘Madraset El Hip-Hop’ Across Lebanon

While many know Lebanon-based Chyno with a Why? as a rapper, the Syrian-Filipino artist offers much more to the musical ecosystem. While being the manager of close friend and fellow rapper, The Synaptik, ranks high amongst his other contributions, Chyno has shown himself to be an advocate for the little man, the up-and-comer, the marginalised - because if you ask him, he’ll tell you that he has been and is all of those things.

One project that falls under these efforts is a hip-hop workshop that he’s been developing for almost a year now. Aimed at 15-29 year-olds, the eight-day ‘Madreset El Hip-Hop’ has introduced participants to the the history and practices of the genre, doing so for free of charge, while also taking care of transportation and food in the northern Lebanese areas of Tripoli, Koura, batroun, Zghrata, Bcharreh and Minnieh-Danniyeh. Chyno is a student of the game, but the workshop has been triggered by another motivation. As Lebanon continues to rebuild itself after the port-side explosion that capped off the crippling financial issues that have plagued the country in the past few years, the workshop was launched to offer up-and-coming artists to develop their skills. 

The workshop is part of the Local Development Programme for Urban Areas in North Lebanon (UDP_NL), implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs. UDP_NL is co-funded by the European Union and Germany.

Those that don’t consider themselves rappers aren’t excluded. In fact, all are welcome to soak in a curriculum that focuses on four main elements of hip-hop: rap, music production, videography and graffiti. During the workshop, participants have to pick one of the specialisations to concentrate on. Chyno doesn’t mess around or suffer fools, though, and their choice in specialisation doesn’t offer a free ride, with instructors ultimately deciding which specialisation suits participants best.

This big, bad bootcamp ultimately aims to have participants work together to create four tracks and package them with artworks and videos.

The next workshop takes place in Zgharta kicks off September and will take place over four consecutive weekends. Find out more at forms.office.com/r/1uRu2f2vuB.