The Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown, Johannesburg, came alive when thousands of hip hop enthusiasts assembled to celebrate Freedom Day at the 12th Annual Back to the City festival on 27 April 2018.
The festival started in the morning with a hip hop summit, which discussed issues affecting the local industry. Among the speakers were Creative Workers Union of South Africa's (CWUSA) Oupa Lebogo and rapper Tumi “Stogie T" Molekane.
As the day progressed, festival patrons were captivated by the skillful BMX riders, skaters, break dancers and freestyle footballers including graffiti artists and the local street fashion on site all representing the theme “Freedom of Self".
The main event, which started behind schedule due to the late stage setup as a result of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) march on Wednesday, presented memorable moments. Local heavyweights Cassper Nyovest, who was dressed as a farmer, performed crowd favourites such as 'Ksazobalit', and Ricky Rick's performance became intense when he took his fans down memory lane on how he was booed while performing for the first time at the festival.
The camaraderie of Gigi Lamayne and Londi London put up a crowd-pleasing show. The star-studded line-up got hotter when veteran rapper Stogie - T surprisingly called up AKA on stage to perform three of his hit tracks and the “Supa Mega" star did not disappoint as fans went into a frenzy.
Some of the up-and-coming acts put out immaculate performances, despite the lukewarm response by the crowd that was unaccustomed to their songs. International rapper Pharaohe Monch gave a nostalgic performance with fans belting out every single line of his classics.
Like all good things come to an end, Back to the City creative director Rashid Kay said the festival would be hosted for the last time in 2021.
“After 15, years we are shutting down Back to the City. It's time to pass the torch to the next generation. We hope the young ones have been learning," he added.
The festival started in 2007 under a bridge on the corners of Henry Nxumalo and Bree streets with only 3 500 people in attendance. This year, over 25 000 people showed up at the cultural hub to celebrate freedom of self.
