Summary of 2014

deutsche Version

Hello, guys!

It was a hard work year on the HHVB and I'm happy and proud that it worked out better than I had expected. It all started with a simple idea and turned into a community that has been continuely growing since June 2014.

Team

The biggest turning point was in the team. In these first 6 months Stella, Danae and me made a lot of experience being bloggers, photographers, assisting organisators of events in Vienna's Hip Hop community. In December, we decided that I will be the only one to work on/for the HHVB. Stella and Danae are now consultants and not working under the name of HHVB anymore. My friend, Mr. Ritz from TRIPLE G, supports me in my poetry. He himself is a House and Hip Hop dancer and teacher with experience and a big heart. I decided in December to put him into the consultants-team.

From blogger to supporter and manager

The original idea of HHVB was just giving information about Hip Hop artists who work and/or live in Vienna. I, as a poet, know how hard it can be to keep on growing in your art. Especially when you got no supporter, no promoter, no publicity, no fame, no platform. My relationship with Bboy Special (Streetlife Supreme/Elementary Force) taught me a lot about streetlife, a life as a Hip Hop artist in Vienna, schemed management and a life as an artist in general. This experience and my sense of empathy made me push young Hip Hop artists who are serious with their art and simply be there for the ones who got lots of experience.

Dreistil's flyer & Dantaya's sticker;
copyright by Kathleen Montorio

I volunteered in handing out flyers, connected artists who mentally fit together for a collab, contacted artists when organisators of events needed immediately information about them. Always trying to protect and push the artists to the top. I gave the artists honest and constructive feedback when they asked for it. For one artist I finally became a mentor. I felt loved and honoured for that. I had a lot of contact to these artists, to most of them regularly. So I decided to make clear in the first interview with every artist that there will never be any flirts or anything beyond that. Not caring if they are already in a relationship, mariage or not.

Motivation

I have been going through a lot in my young life and finally got ill in October 2013. Hip Hop always helped me a lot to feel better. This HHVB is not for me, but for the artists. It is a way to say thank you of helping me out of this hardship with their art. To see the smiles on the artists' face is something so precious to me.

Facebook Fanpage

In December, I published the FB-Fanpage. Here is the link for it: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hip-Hop-in-Vienna-Blog/1468522670083978 Sprayer Pestoner drew a tag, Stella organized the vectorizing of the tag and it became our first logo.

1. Logo für den HHVB;
copyright by Pestoner

The FB-Fanpage will be used to promote the HHVB. Let's see what it will be in 6 months! In January there will be a Promotion Week on the Fanpage. All Hip Hop artists, no matter in what Hip Hop element they are, can get promotion through the FB-Fanpage. It is for those who don't need support but promotion from me. And it is for those who are already part of the HHVB-community.

Steps to success

In the HHVB supporter community, there are 19 solo artists, one duo, three crews. Most of them rappers, two artists are dancers. It is very important to me to know the artists I support personally. One regular Hip Hop event (Dreistil - Rap Battle) is also a part of the HHVB. These statistics are the result of many interviews, battles, gigs I have been to. Don't forget how many more hours I have spent in front of the monitor to conceptualise, to write, to translate, to encode the blog entries and to spread the words of many Hip Hop events that took place in Vienna. I didn't ask for money and maybe never will. One cannot buy the friends I have made in this time.

Any plans for 2015?

In 2015 I plan two tours. One through Austria and another one through Germany. Both tours have streetart in common because the streets are where Hip Hop was born. In both tours, my aim is to support and promote the artists and Vienna's Hip Hop. And of course, I will keep on connecting to Hip Hop artists in Vienna. :)

With this motivation and love to Hip Hop, I wish you a happy new year!
Yours,
Kath from the HHVB