One of the longest-lasting cyclical rap events in the capital, REWIR Rap Jam, is a piece of history not only of the team identifying with this signboard, but of hip-hop in general.
Over 300 melanges related to street culture are the foundation of a shared experience, where a lot of positive people met, connected with rhymes, beats, grafitti, breakdance and, of course, a REVIEW dresscode. And although it is not easy to condense it all in letters and lines, the memories of people associated with REWIR Rap Jam at least to some extent reflect the atmosphere of those extraordinary events.
From the beginning, it was loose
– I must admit that for a concert organized by teenagers it turned out quite well. We did everything quickly, a little burned. I remember that someone printed the tickets on plain paper, then we cut them laboriously with a wallpaper knife and laminated them with the most ordinary sticky tape. The entry to the concert cost 10 zlotys and we managed to sell some of these tickets. But we actually gave most of the money to our friends, and the last jackpot was even dispersed among random people we met on Nowy Świat. That is why the audience in front of the stage was very diverse … – this is the details of the first REWIR Rap Jam concert in the history of one of its co-organizers and a friend of REWIR, gentlemen, to this day.
The event, which took place on August 4, 2006 in the iconic Piwnica pod Harendą, was the result of a common, perhaps naive, but 100% sincere desire to do something totally your own on the rap scene. Friends and acquaintances of friends associated with rap and Mokotów grabbed the microphones on a Friday summer evening, making a good party at the same time. At that time, the following line-ups appeared on the stage: Południowy Styl Miasta with the support of Groszka NDP and RH. Baks, Żmuda and Żary associated with Hemp Gru were also present. Everything on a teaser, no pressure, no bloating, but as it turned out later, not without problems.
– Although the attendance was great and the club was bursting at the seams, unfortunately the “mr. Manager” came to us after the concert and said that the event did not make any money. Honestly, it was possible for two reasons. First, the aforementioned distribution of tickets, secondly, the so-called contraband brought into clubs. Everyone wanted to have a good time, and not everyone could afford to drink at the bar, which had to be queued for anyway, and you know, it was a waste of time. So a lot of the bottles were smuggled in, but at least that made it a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, this did not convince the club owners and the dude, who was a DJ, had to hand over a computer. I remember that someone else pawned his phone, Nokia 3330.
In the end, we managed to collect the money and the guys got their belongings back, but when I remember it today, I think that no shit, those were crazy times – recalls the gentlemen.
RRJ is gaining momentum
Although the organization of the first concert was not without problems, no one was discouraged by this idea, on the contrary – all those who had their fingers in RRJ at that time could not wait for the next event, which was held soon. After it came another and another. Places changed and the team focused around REWIR was constantly growing.
– Each of these events was like one big homie Christmas Eve. It was impossible to be indifferent to this atmosphere. Everyone was full of enthusiasm in these melanges. They were all young, beautiful, poor and full of enthusiasm then – laughs Marian, a man who could count the concerts of RRJ that he had missed on the fingers of one hand.
If REWIR were a football team, Marian would surely be playing in the top eleven. Hence, his next words are not surprising:
– For me, these parties and everything related to them are like rock’n’roll for my parents. It is something that shaped me, taught me a lot, and became a way of life.
REWIR clothes were our hallmark – when you saw someone in this sweatshirt, it was known that it was yours.
I have a banana on my face when I see my son going to school in REWIR clothes – sums up Marian.
Continuing to compare REWIR to a football team, it is appropriate to indicate its captain who is also its coach. I am talking about Józek, also known as Dawid JZK. He is the man who invented REWIR and then started to implement this idea.
Józek, when asked about the details of the organization of the first REWIR Rap Jam concerts, admits that everything was very natural.
– At the very beginning, the teams invited to perform on stage included mainly colleagues and colleagues. It all went by shaking hands, we met someone somewhere who was rapping at the moment, we thought it suited our party and that was enough. It was about doing something of your own and having fun doing it. Complete underground. Later, the group of people willing to take over the microphone grew larger and larger, there was no chance to invite everyone to the stage. We tried to do it more and more professionally with each passing year. We advertised our events on the Internet, put up posters around the city, and shot video announcements of concerts that took place in better and better clubs. But not necessarily bigger ones, for example, at one time RRJ, we organized in the Index, a typical student venue in Krakowskie Przedmieście, and I remember these concerts as one of the best, although the places there were like medicine. Anyway, with time there was also a natural selection of who is present with us, and at the same time there was a snowball effect, which made REWIR Rap Jam begin to play stronger nicknames and line-ups – says Józek.
First of all, the atmosphere
Zetenwupe, Grogra, Formation Cemetery, Peace with a View to War, Vigor, Surrounding Element, Proceente, Kęka, Karwan, OMP, Together Over Kilo, Sick Mental, Certain Position, Bani Bani, HiFi Banda, Ryfa Ri – this is only part of the rap underground (at that time) scene that appeared on RRJ.
The last of the mentioned, i.e. Ryfa, present in the capital’s rap environment “since always”, played on many REWIR Rap Jamie and was in the audience at many editions.
– For me, RRJ has always been an up-to-date overview of the underground scene, meetings, epic melanges. I remember hammering with my friends after every show to do an open mic. A little later, when I was already playing concerts at these events, I noticed that their atmosphere was still just right. A bit local and relaxed, and a bit hip-hop-festive – says a member of WCK and WRR.
Ematei, i.e. Mateusz Natali, rap activist and editor-in-chief of Popkiller.pl, speaks in a similar vein.
– If I were to briefly describe REWIR Rap Jam, I must say for sure that these events were characterized by character.
All that was going on there was raw, real underground energy, says Ematei.
It was positive energy, as evidenced by the words of Eska, a man who, next to the already mentioned Marian, still forms the backbone of the REWIR family.
– The atmosphere is definitely a plus. I honestly admit that although I remember a lot of RRJ, some of them were a blur… You know, nobody poured at the collar. But it was fine anyway. I do not know that there were any arguments – recalls Eska, who, like Ryfa, was present at RRJ on both sides of the microphone.
Józek, the creator of RRJ, confirms that, fortunately, battles other than microphones were very rare. However, that doesn’t mean everything always went according to plan. It was loud and very melange, but that’s what parties are all about There were also just mishaps.
– I remember that the microphones stopped working at some point during one of the concerts. Despite many attempts, it was not possible to revive them and we had to act.
The DJ started to play, and in the middle of the concert we went to Otwock to get replacement equipment. We were gone for almost two hours, but we came back with working microphones and the party could go on – says Józek.
A moment later he will addthem that he agrees with Matthew Natali that RRJ were of character. Just like the team that created them.
– Organized by us concerts had such a reputation that almost all clubs in such an atmosphere wanted to have these events at home, but on one condition – that there would be … security. On the one hand, managers warned each other against RRJ, while on the other, due to the fact that we ensured a great turnout and an equally good melange, despite this “bad reputation”, completely unjustified, we were invited to other places (but security had to be!) .
I say that this opinion was unfounded, because for so many years there were literally several situations that seemed to be a pathology. However, when it comes to curves actions, we only had one, with another team that also organized rap events in the capital. In general, in Warsaw at that time, an unwritten agreement was in force in the industry so as not to coincide with the deadlines. If someone has already done their concert on a certain day, e.g. on Wednesday, we moved our REWIR to Tuesday or Thursday. It worked reciprocally. With one exception, when this arrangement was violated, primarily to the detriment of the audience and partygoers, who had to choose where to go because of these gimmicks. But revenge came quickly.
When the same guests organized another melange, we did four parties in four different places on the same day under different names. Well, they felt like it. No one has ever stuck to our deadline – concludes Józek.
History with the memory of history
RRJ was a casual event that took place over the years on different days of the week, month or year. Apart from one date, very important for the history of these concerts.
As already mentioned, REWIR was established in Mokotów, and more specifically in Sadyba, which has always been a patriotic housing estate. Here, no one, especially young people, has been indifferent to the issues of the history of Poland, especially the capital. That is why those who created REWIR were naturally interested in the Warsaw Uprising and everything related to it. Maria Szamborska, an insurgent pseudonym “Żaba”, known to everyone in Sadyba, had a great influence on this. During the events of 1944, this amazing woman was a liaison officer and a nurse. Although it was a tragic period, Maria willingly shares her memories of the events that took place at that time. Thanks to it, the history of the Warsaw Uprising takes on a more human dimension. And such one always has a greater influence on how certain events in history are perceived than the dry facts in books.
The REWIR team, inspired by the testimony of Maria Szamborska, decided to organize REWIR Rap Jam every year on August 1, just after the “W” hour, to the glory of the Insurgents. Random performers were not invited to these events, they also had a unique setting.
For example, in 2012 at a party at a club that no longer exists 55 an exhibition of the insurgent poster was organized. The media then became interested in the idea of this type of event, the so-called insurgent RRJ mentioned, inter alia, Radio Wnet, Radio Kampus or TVP3 Warsaw.
REWIR Rap Jam is a piece of the history of the Warsaw rap scene, although guest concerts in other cities were also held under this banner, including in Olsztyn, Białystok and Sosnowiec.
Since rappers from all over the country appeared at these events, it can be considered that RRJ is part of the history of Polish rap in general. Rap with different faces, which the participants could hear during dedicated events, such as the “OFF” or “women’s” editions, when the microphones were completely taken over by the ladies associated with hip-hop.
REWIR Rap Jam consists of over 300 events attended by tens of thousands of people. These are melanges on which hectoliters of alcohol drinks were drunk. Countless burnt loudspeakers, created under the stage of friendship, love and, above all, good memories.
WROTE: Igor Sokołowski