"I've always been involved in theatre, so when Hiphop culture came about I was thinking of how it would work in a theatre space"
With performances from all over the world under his belt, Jonzi D has become one of the most recognised names in hip hop dance production. Actively involved in British hip hop culture, Jonzi brings to Nottingham a groundbreaking new theatre production called TAG: Me Vs the City. Collaborating with some of the most successful artists and dancers he tells us what it’s all about…
In a nutshell can you tell us what TAG: Me vs The City is all about?
My nutshells tend to be quite big. It was an idea I had in 2000 as a result of working with a graffiti artist called Prime on a previous theatre show. TAG is about the graffiti artist, the unsung hero of hip hop culture and it says a lot about our oppressive society. I thought, ok we’re not allowed to use aerosols in the theatre so let’s work with dancers. This is the idea of physical calligraphy, the concept of dancers making letters and shapes with their bodies. Then we just saw how far we could take that concept, which has been really fun!
So did the concept of physical calligraphy stem purely from the fact that you can’t use aerosols in the theatre?
Not purely… I basically work with dance a lot and the idea was to represent the paint. We could have done it with other mediums but I think that like dance, these graffiti artists bring the city to life. In relation to the theatre piece it was really important for me to use these ideas, but with the body and that was the biggest challenge for me. I work with break-dancers and body-poppers a lot because I think that the dance forms are important to hip hop culture. Their disciplines serve various physical ideas like dripping, waving, popping and freezing shown by the way these dancers use quite gymnastic positions to create letter forms. (Jonzi then began to demonstrate his movement skills, popping the dripping of a tap followed by the freezing mode and how this plays an important part in holding the letter.)
You talk of disciplines in your work, mentioning the use of breakdancing and body-popping. Do you practice any other disciplines like parkour or ballet?
Yeh…The production set itself is a playground. We use 3metre by 2metre solid graffiti letters which the dancers actually jump off and on to so parkour is incorporated into the production. In comparison to the use of the stereotypical classical ballet techniques where the emphasis is on creating a light and weightlessness, I’m very much into the idea of actually using the ground and creating impact between surfaces.
What is it about TAG: Me vs The City that links to your other productions in terms of social message?
It’s quite abstract. The main character has got issues with authority stemming from a relationship with his father and so he challenges any form of authority. The message is less explicit in comparison to my other work and very much steered toward the visual as opposed to textual. Vision and sound is my main delivery.
TAG brags quite a prestigious cast with DJ Pogo and graffiti artist Prime to name a couple. Do you find inspiration from your collaborators?
I’m very much inspired by Prime and his virtually Arabic style, it’s beautiful. I know DJ Pogo from way back in the day, he’s a long standing collaborator and Ben Wachenje from the 7samuri, who made the flyers and a short film for the production, has done my images for the last ten years now. I’m always happy with what he does.
The production seems quite a radical show for the traditional theatre settings. Why choose theatre for the show?
Since I was born I’ve been involved in theatre…so when hip hop culture came about I was always thinking of how its performance components would work in a theatre space.
Is there an audience you're aiming at in particular?
I’m aiming it at the new hip hop audience to get them inspired by theatre cos to be honest I don’t think theatre is that inspiring because a lot of it doesn’t speak to young audiences.
Any plans for future live productions yet and is there anyone you’d really like to work with?
I would love to work with a guy called ‘Soweto Kinch’ who recently won young jazz saxophonist of the year and also produces hip hop music and is one of the best emcees I have ever heard. I have plans for a new theatre show that I wanna make in a year or so called ‘Marcus the sadist’ and I’d really like to get him involved.
What tunes are you listening to at the moment?
I only listen to hardcore underground hip hop. Generally speaking I don’t listen to heavily promoted gangster ‘hip pop’. Respect for MF DOOM, MAD LIB, KEV BROWN who are all American artists. UK-based I’m listening to Vex, who is a sick emcee, Black Twang and Skinnyman.
Have you heard of anything from Nottingham’s hip hop scene?
I’ve got a bit of a relationship with some Nottingham based artists so I’m interested in the scene.
I take it you’ve heard of our folklaw legend Robin Hood?
Yeh I'm very much up on the idea of stealing from the rich to give to the poor. I think that the Robin Hood philosophy is kind of what I’m doing with theatre. Bringing hip hop into what is a relatively rich environment.
Has your association with Sadler Wells changed any direction in your work?
Sadler Wells don’t get involved in my artistic ideas, they're very supportive but I don’t have to compromise.
Have you any plans for future TV work and how does it compare to your live production?
I love TV work, it's incomparable to theatre audiences in which your refined to how many people you can get in one space - with TV your one show will go out to thousands and I’m very interested in getting into that a lot more.
What was the last book you read?
The Art Of War by Sun Tzu
What was the last film you watched?
King Kong! Fantastic! I do think that the film has got undertones of societies perspective on the black male… The impression of a wild African environment felt like we were going back in time… The taboo of a wild black animal falling in love with a pale white blue eyed woman. Correct me if im wrong but that’s what I got from it!
What motivates you?
Injustice! I make art from injustice because that’s what inspires me.
What was the last thing that made you laugh?
This interview… and before this... I saw a sitcom by Chris Rock called Everybody Hates Chris. I can’t wait until it comes here because it’s so funny.
What was the last thing that made you cry?
(After a thoughtful pause) I’d say the death of my brother which made me cry buckets… Oh and the movie Beloved.
Is there anything else you’d like to say to LeftLion readers?
Yeah. To the hip hop community, this show's for you! I’m proud to be creating a language that the community can understand and that people outside of it can learn from. I'd like to present hip hop as an educational tool and as something that can benefit the whole of society!
TAG: Me vs The City was on at the Nottingham Playhouse
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