Costa Rica
In 2024, five Hip Hop artists traveled to Costa Rica as part of the Next Level program. Kara Janelle (Dancer), Rokmore (Beatmaker), Exacto (Beatboxer), and Queena Bergen (MC) joined Site Manager Pinqy Ring to perform for audiences and collaborate with local artists to promote cross-cultural creative exchange and conflict transformation. Team Costa Rica is part of a larger Next Level cohort of American MCs, DJs, beatmakers, beatboxers, aerosol artists, and Hip Hop dancers seeking to create a global community through Hip Hop culture.
Next Level, a cultural diplomacy program that uses Hip Hop to create connections is an initiative of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Meridian International Center that promotes conflict transformation, entrepreneurship and artistic and professional development among younger and under-served audiences around the world.
The Next Level Academy was held at the University of Costa Rica in their Caribbean Campus. They provided separate spaces for the 4 workshops to be held as well as an auditorium that was used for Orientation, a Conflict Transformation workshop, an Entrepreneurship Day, and Rehearsal. In the Beatmaking workshop, led by Rokmore, participants learned how to use samples in music production, how to use vinyl to sample. how to create a drum kit for Hip Hop music production, how to preserve culture through Hip Hop music production, among many other skills. In Exacto’s beatboxing workshop, participants explored the rich history of Hip Hop and beatboxing from the 60s to present day, learned Beatbox basics as well as new school sounds and beat techniques. Kara Jenelle led choreographies, freestyle cyphers, and battles in her dance workshop while teaching participants about 90s Hip Hop movement, Afrobeat movements, and House dance. Finally, participants in the MC workshop, led by Queena Bergen, learned to identify rhyming structures, freestyling, and songwriting, while having meaningful discussions about conflict transformation and using music to manage emotions.
The Jam Session / Collaboration was held at the Salom Comunal Cahuita. Led by the Comité de Cahuita, the goal of these community eldes was to preserve Limon culture, including the creole language and calypso music. The jam was conducted with legendary KAWE Calypso, a calypso group whose mission is to save calypso music and culture led by Danny Williams. Grupo Dancestra, a calypso dancing group joined the jam session. It was a true exchange, where Next Level performed first, then KAWE Calypso, and then everyone jammed together. The jam was open to the public, and along with guests and artists invited by the Comité de Cahuita and WCBM (including legendary MC and calypso performer Mike Joseph), people from the street came into the space and joined in.
Laura Bustillos from LaBu Productions was the videographer and photographer throughout the residency. She held a Videography masterclass titled “Smart Device Filmmaking 101 for BIPOC” in which she taught participants about basic framing and camera movements. She talked about lighting for different skin colors, and covered social media topics such as music copyrights and apps for editing videos.
The final show, hosted at Casa de la Cultura de Limon, was asuccessful culmination of all of Team Costa Rica’s hard work and dedication. Hosted by Nakury, a Costa Rican MC also from the Caribbean, the event was about 3 hours long and DJd by local collaborator and beatmaking participant Kidhendrix.The show was “sold out”, with 155 guests. Each participant received 3 tickets to invite family and friends, and we had special cordoned off seating for our collaborators. It was a magical experience full of joy, and US Embassy staff spoke with the team in tears mentioning that in 19 years as a public official, she had never seen anything as impactful as Next Level.
Overall, the artists showed a passion for their artforms and enjoyed sharing it with students no matter how experienced they were. Students who participated in the workshops were left inspired by the artists and excited to continue learning.