From November 12–16, the festival Urban Essentials brings hip-hop’s aesthetics, rhythm, and energy to Vilnius, Lithuania. For more than three decades, Jonzi D has been reshaping the perception of hip-hop on stage. As a pioneering UK MC, spoken word artist, dancer, and the founder of Breakin’ Convention – the world’s leading hip-hop theatre festival – he has transformed how the world sees hip-hop: not as street art moving indoors, but as a global language that transcends stages, borders, and generations.
Ahead of his first visit to Lithuania for the “Urban Essentials” festival, Lina Kukytė sat down with him to talk about authenticity, hip-hop’s global language, and the power of art to bring change.
You’ve been a pioneer in bringing hip-hop from the streets to the stage. As an associate artist at Sadler’s Wells, how do you keep that raw, street energy alive while working in a big institutional space?
For me, Sadler’s Wells is not an institution, it’s a space. Early in my career, I used to say I wanted to exorcise the demons of hierarchy. Hip-hop doesn’t deal with hierarchy. For me it was always about acknowledging that we are just occupying the space and presenting the culture within it. We’re not bringing hip-hop to the theatre – we’re bringing the theatre to hip-hop. That shift in perspective changes everything.
You started Breakin’ Convention and have taken it all over the world, turning it into a global celebration of hip-hop. What surprises you the most about how hip-hop gets interpreted in different countries?
Hip-hop is a global language. I think it’s one of the products of global capitalism – it’s one of the TV’s products. We received this culture through a couple of films in the early ’80s: Beat Street, Wild Style, Breakin’, and we all interpreted it and gave it our own accents because it was difficult to find information about the real roots of hip-hop at that time.
Remember, America – the birthplace of hip-hop – is a land of migrants. So hip-hop culture came from the whole world anyway, to begin with. When I watch certain breaking moves, I see echoes of different dancing traditions, even martial arts.
For example, I remember travelling to Mozambique and there were some dancers greeting us, dressed in traditional African costume, and they were doing the “top rock”, which is a breaking move. But they’ve been doing it for centuries, you know? The truth is, the whole world has adopted hip-hop culture. We just speak it in different accents.
The Urban Essentials festival in Lithuania brings people together from everywhere and educates how diverse hip-hop culture is. What role do festivals like this play in shaping the future of hip-hop theatre?
It’s really great that festivals like Urban Essentials are representing Hip-hop in these spaces. It’s also important that we are mindful that it’s just a space that we’re occupying. If we think too much about the institution, we can lose some of the elements of the culture. And sometimes we have to compromise, which isn’t necessarily a good thing. Any dialogue must be happening with the hip-hop brain. Hip-hop needs to remain intact.
You often talk about art as a way to empower people. How do you see hip-hop and creativity driving social awareness and change today?
I’m rooted in hip hop being a vehicle of social change. Hip-hop has always been about social commentary. It was born from struggle, from resistance. It gives people a way to speak, to express what they feel about their reality.
Looking back, was there a moment that defined your journey?
It was in 1988 when I was doing contemporary dance – but still rapping. Institutionally, these cultures are really separate, and I didn’t want to tell anyone in hip hop that I was doing contemporary dance, particularly as an MC. I was embarrassed that I loved contemporary dance, and that I was wearing tights.
When I made my first show in 1995, that was it. The defining moment for me was when I realized that I am not split apart, I’m not polarized. I am that person that can bring these elements together. That was the spark that I’ve never turned back from – the hip-hop culture as a theatrical genre.
Through projects like Open Art Surgery and Back to the Lab, you’ve mentored hundreds of artists. What’s the key lesson you try to pass on to the next generation?
Be a sponge. Absorb everything around you, but let it be defined by your conscious choices. Stay curious.
This will be your first visit to Lithuania. What are you most looking forward to?
I’m excited to connect. When I spoke with Laurynas, I instantly felt his energy and his love for the culture. It’s always about invitation and connection. I love traveling and seeing new places, and I’ve heard that Lithuania’s got a really healthy hip-hop scene going on, so I’m curious to see.
And on a more personal note – what keeps you inspired after all these years?
People. The younger generation, but also the naughty 40s, and the nifty 50s. Receiving that fresh, new energy while mentoring and working with talented people – that’s what keeps me inspired.
This year together with Sadler’s Wells East we’ve started Academy Breakin’ Convention where we teach the form of hip-hop within an institution. We’re also doing a national tour next year with the Breakin’ Convention festival. I think I am inspired because I’m always developing and working in a professional development capacity with hip-hop artists that want to learn about theatrical techniques.
A kaleidoscope of hip-hop culture at the “Urban Essentials” festival
Next week, the “Urban Essentials” festival invites street dance enthusiasts and culture lovers to gather, learn, share their creativity, draw inspiration, and celebrate hip-hop culture together. The programme includes dance battles, creative discussions and workshops, four international dance performances from France, Morocco, and Spain, as well as DJ sets and a symposium.
The event will host world-class guests, among them Friederike Frost from Germany – a breaking judge at the Paris Olympic Games, two-time Emmy winner Toki Wright from the USA, DJ Renegade from the UK, breaking legend Poe One, and many others.
Tickets via Bilietai.lt.
The festival is organised by Vilnius City Dance Theatre “Low Air”. The festival program is partly funded by the Vilnius City Municipality, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Embassies of Germany and Spain in Lithuania, and the British Council. The festival’s media partner is LRT Plius.