Assisted by
Anggi, a facilitator from Kampung Halaman, we thought it would be fun if their interest in music and writing could be combined in a media activity. We decided to hold a hiphop workshop with our friends at Lapas. Of course, we asked them first and they were very enthusiastic, even though they had to wait for weeks before the workshop could take place.
So, why hiphop? Why rap? Hiphop is foreign, isn’t it? Li
ke 50 Cent? From America? Oops! Don’t get huffy yet, friends. Actually, the habit of babbling (if we want to be cool, we can call it ‘storytelling’) has long been known in Nusantara, long before the Dutch arrived and colonized our country. Every region in Indonesia has its own tradition of ‘babbling’. In Betawi, we have pantun, in Central and East Java we have parikan, in Sumatera there is gurindam, and in Sunda there is sisindiran, paprikan, wawangsalan, and lots more! [These are all kinds of regional poetry.] If you think about it, the art of playing with words does not belong just to American rappers, but it also belongs to Indonesia.
Besides being a
national heritage, the habit of ‘spitting out words’ is part of the hiphop culture that’s become a worldwide phenomenon. It will be a very long story if we tell everything here, so SOCA will just quote a bit from Rifki’s story.
Rifki is one of the counselors for the Hiphop Community. The hiphop culture was created by the black American community in response to discrimination. They were not allowed to work, become smart, even had to sit in a different part of the bus from white-skinned people. There was a lot of unemployment amongst the African-Americans, who filled their time with ‘chatter’, or pouring out their hearts in words. Whether in protest, or to express their wishes for a better life, or whatever .… They didn’t give up; in the midst of all of the restraints, they still created something. The result … just see, Obama became the first black president of America!
It is this spirit of ‘not giving up despite the barriers’ that we brought
to Lapas. In the beginning, SOCA and our friends shocked the participants with the beat “boom boom pack! Boom boom boom pack!”, led by Dimas Pas from the Hiphop Community and all of the counselors who joined in one-by-one until everyone was making sounds with the same rhythm, using whatever they had close at hand. Suddenly, the door behind the participants opened and Rifki came out to introduce all of us in an energetic rap style. When everyone was introduced, things calmed down.
Riki, Ari, Akub, Step, Jenjen, Angga, Duna, and their other friends couldn’t wait to start.
We did lots of cool things, including learning how to write lyrics. At first, our friends at Lapas were confused as to how to start. Don’t have to be confused; doesn’t everyone have their own stories? Because every second, every minute, every hour that passes has a story. Come one, start with something close to you! You can tell about yourself, your wishes,
your mistakes, your dislikes, even what you miss! Hmm…once they got over the confusion, they began to tell their stories. Some talked about what they wanted to do when they got out, there was someone to told about their friend named Miftah, some said they missed they sweeties (aawww!); it was a mixed bag. These stories then were turned into lyrics that had rhythm and were easy to listen to. Hiphop music was played continuously in the background so that the participants could adjust their lyrics to the music and practice how they would recite it.
The second
day was even more exciting! The participants had been divided into five groups and each would get a chance to record their song. They recorded in the OB Van that had been brought into the Lapas. Just bringing int the OB Van into Lapas caused a commotion, whatsmore with the recordings. They worked on memorizing their lyrics, and when they were ready, the group could advance to the “magic table” for the final practice before recording. Rifki manned the “magic table”, where he worked with the participants in strengthening their beat.
Beginning with
Dadan, they started to record one-by-one. Funny stories emerged. There was one participant who felt he was ready after practicing, but when it was his turn in front of the microphone, he froze. He couldn’t open his mouth and no sound came out. Fortunately,
Dimas, who was coaching the kids, was very patient and could encourage them to try again.
Saturday was the last day of our activity. Two groups that
hadn’t finished their recordings worked on them with Dimas and Rifki in the auditorium. Meanwhile, the three groups that had already made their recordings were going to show off their rapping abilities that day because every Saturday, they have a Dangdut Day at Lapas for all of the residents there.
Psst! Apparently, before this hiphop workshop, the juvenile detainees had never taken part in the program because they were never confident enough to perform. If they did anything, they just danced along the sidelines. But this Saturday was different! The Director of Lapas even came to give a speech in the program to encourage the kids to perform. Even though they appeared shy and hesitant in the b
eginning, they eventually went on stage to perform their songs that they had worked on for two days in the workshop. The Sherlove group, consisting of Ari, Dadan and friends, started off with their song entitled,
“Miftah”, which was about their funny, simple friend, Miftah. They were followed by Jenjen and Angga, and then by the
Rata group, represented by Redi and
Akub. Wow … the applause shook all corners of Lapas. We were happy, relieved, and satisfied. At the end of the program, everyone joined in the dangdut rhythm, dancing together, singing together.
Anggi, Nunu, Ruslan Panji, all carried away with the dangdut rhythm.
But, it was time to leave. With a heavy heart, we left our friends at Lapas. But don’t worry, we will return to visit them and listen to your songs. SOA, Anggi, Dimas, and Rifki took their leave after having photos taken with everyone. Even
Mrs. Ratna and
Mr. Tata, who accompanied us from the first day, joined in the photos. They were just as spirited as the young kids. Thank you, everyone!!
SOCA express
es their gratitude to everyone who was involved and supported this program: the Lembaga Pemasyarakatan (Lapas) Class IIB Tasikmayala, Director of Lapas,
Mr. Wahidin, Mrs. Ratna, Mrs. Imas, Mr. Tata, Mr. Komandan, the guards who were never tired of opening the doors for us, Dengar! Kampung Halaman Yogyakarta, Dimas Pas, Rifki, Abut, April, Uli, Ruslan, Panji, Kang Duddy, Alma, Ceu Dewi (for introducing us to Mrs. Koneksi), Art FM, Style Radio, Priangan Newspaper, and everyone who contributed time, energy, and ideas in relation to this program.
“The real prison is in our own narrow thoughts.”
As told by: Nunu, SOCA Tasikmalaya organizer
Photo by: Dimas.
Dengar! 
Previously, SOCA had visited Lapas and talked with the young people there about what they were interested in and what they did every day there. Most of them said that they really liked music, both playing musical instruments and just listening to it. Wow, just like us, right? Also, if they were homesick, remembered their sweethearts (ahem!) or really wanted to go home, they would scribble down their innermost thoughts. Ah, youth! Of course, because at heart, they are just like us, young people just like us. They like music, playing, heart-to-heart talks, a bit naughty, etc.