Akala – Why Riot?
Young hip-hop and spoken word artist, Akala, broke the mould with the first ever Rebel Rant for young people. He discussed what have now been dubbed the August Riots that took place across England in the summer of 2011 with an audience of young people from schools across Liverpool. Tackling the reasons the riots started, the behaviour of rioters, and the effects it had on the community, he ranted about his thoughts on whether gang culture played a part in the riots, vigilantism and the way the riots and rioters were portrayed in the media. The young audience proved to be very enthusiastic and opinionated on the matter, with a long-lasting Q&A session.Akala won ‘Best Hip-Hop Artist' at the MOBOs in 2006. He’s headlined five UK tours and toured Europe with Jay-Z, Nas and Damian Marley, MIA and Christina Aguilera, and has a reputation for his amazing live shows. He has three albums under his belt and has released fifteen singles since 2003.
Akala has also performed at venues around the world and was the first rapper to perform a live concert in Vietnam. In 2010, Akala launched his own production company; scripting, presenting, writing and composing music for BBC, C4 and ITV. In November of the same year, Akala headlined a live performance at the British Library to launch the Evolving English exhibition. He was also part of Channel 4’s ‘Street Summer’ series presenting a Life of Rhyme - a programme exploring hip-hop and poetry/spoken word.
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