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jojga hip hop foundation samples poems, wishes and curses
in a mix with literary Javanese texts and colloquial riffs.Their musical
hooks are pinned to global rhythms, traditional gamelan music
and a love of language. Their songs speak out about corruption,
shout for social justice and have been taken up as anthems in public
demonstrations and rallies.
Recognized as one of Southeast Asia’s foremost collectives, JHF
was established to promote diversity and pluralism. After few small
projects, JHF started the Indonesian poetries project in 2006 then
produced the albums Poetry Battle 1 (2007) and Poetry Battle 2
(2008). Both incorporate poetry and oral literature dating from the
18th century and contemporary poetry they reinterpret for a new
audience, reinvigorating an interest in the country’s rich past. In
other instances JHF has successfully merged these ancient texts with
Islamic teachings to exemplify the spirit of syncretism and plurality.
On a national scale, the group has experimented with other
Indonesian languages to create songs about anti-corruption. JHF
engages various socio-political and cultural issues while aesthetically
continuing to ground their work in popular and historical Javanese
sources. They expand the Javanese-ness of their hip-hop in ways
beyond their lyrics. Their hip-hop sounds are extremely hybrid.
Founded by Marzuki Mohammad aka Kill the DJ in 2003, JHF is an
umbrella for Yogyakarta-based hip-hop crews that mostly use traditional
Javanese language. Even though the name might sound formal,
JHF operates in a more communal way rather than as a formal
institution. JHF is best known for three crews: Jahanam, Rotra and
Kill the DJ; a bunch of Javanese rude boys standing still in the crossculture.
Talking about yogyakarta
It is almost impossible to leave Yogyakarta out of a discussion of
Indonesian culture. It is a small province, the smallest among the
four other provinces in Java, yet its pivotal role is enormous. It is the
place where almost all signifiers of Javanese cultural production—
such as gamelan, wayang kulit (shadow puppetry), wayang orang,
court dance, oral literature, etc.—were developed for centuries, long
before the dawn of the colonial age. And they eventually took part in
shaping the national Indonesia as a modern idea.
At the same time, Yogyakarta is not an enclosed and sterile space.
Its glorified history is also strengthened by its post-independence
function, which was to serve as the city of education. For decades,
Yogyakarta has built a strong foundation for the growth of educational
institutions, making it one of the most dynamic and youthful
urban cities in Indonesia.
—Ugoran Prasad
An artist and independent researcher, Ugoran Prasad is a playwright and
dramaturg in residence with Teater Garasi Yogyakarta as well as program
manager at the Indonesian Society for the Performing Arts. He is a performing
lyricist of Melancholic Bitch, a Yogyakarta-based shadow pop band.
He was also featured in the first JHF Poetry Battle album. He was a visiting
scholar at the Performance Studies Department at New York University and
a fellow of the Asian Cultural Council in 2011.
center stage
Diplomacy doesn’t just happen in conference rooms or at embassies.
It can burst out in classrooms and studios, on town greens and
beside historic landmarks, in coffee shops and arts centers,
moving from person to person, between artist and arts lover. From
June–December 2012, 10 different contemporary performing
arts ensembles from Haiti, Indonesia and Pakistan are making
independent month-long tours in the U.S. as part of Center Stage.
Residencies include performances, workshops, discussions, peopleto-people
exchanges and community gatherings. This public-private
partnership is the largest public diplomacy effort to bring foreign
artists to American stages in recent history.
Keep up with Center Stage and find additional information about
Papermoon Puppet Theatre at www.CenterStageUS.org, on Facebook
(www.facebook.com/CenterStagePage) and Twitter (@centerstage).
Special thanks to Rachel Cooper and Asia Society.
question & answer Session moderators:
Henry Spiller, chair, Department of Music, UC Davis, is an
ethnomusicologist whose research focuses on Sundanese music
and dance from West Java, Indonesia.
Katherine In-Young Lee, assistant professor, Ethnomusicology,
joined the UC Davis Department of Music faculty in July 2012.
Sarah Geller is a Ph.D. candidate in Ethnomusicology. She
teaches African American Music at UC Davis and is currently
writing her dissertation on hip-hop in America.
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