Original Episode Title: *Hip Hop and Its Global Outreach: Kufa Castro Pontificates, 5/17/16 *** Original Episode Date: Tuesday, May 17, 2016 Name of Guest(s): Kufa Castro, hip hop artist, poet, actor *** Original Episode Summary: *Hip Hop music has gotten into almost every nook and cranny of our planet, thanks to the hard work and dedication of it's sons and daughters who will not rest until their voices are heard. Kufa Castro is one of those kids and he'll speak to us about how Hip Hop has influenced his life. Join us as we converse with this multi-talented artist about acting, poetry and of course being a Hip Hop Emcee. For a taste of what's in store, check out www.soundcloud.com/kufacastro *[slightly modified] Contact Info for Guest: Twitter: @kufacastro Soundcloud: @kufacastro https://www.youtube.com/user/kufacastro/videos *** More Info About the Guest, Topics and/or Podcast: Kufa Castro is a local actor, poet, and hip hop artist bringing his love for the genre to the masses, Born in the Dominican Republic, Spanish is his native tongue and what comes naturally in terms of putting thoughts into poetry and songs. From a young age, poetry and songs were an outlet of expression for him. His style defies categorization. He flows between Reggaeton and Spanish Hip Hop. As his fan base has expanded, he has worked to incorporate more English songs into his repertoire as a way to connect with those fans. Writing in two different languages is like tapping into different portions of your brain. Kufa notes that it's not a matter of translating but actually thinking differently. Kufa has begun to branch out into acting and got his start on the AS220 stage locally and loved being able to display a whole other range of emotions through the words of others. Kufa can be seen in the Spanish production of the The Birdcage in the upcoming months. *** Audio from the podcast also comes from the Reza Rites / Sonic Watermelons Archive: The Reza Wreckage 10 in 10 was a short-run multimedia podcast series produced by Sonic Watermelons’ Reza #rezarites Clifton. The attached mini-podcast features an interview Clifton did for the series with Omni Zona Franca, a group of artists that performs and presents a mixture of hip hop, dance, and ordinary and extraordinary sounds and movements. The trio was in Providence, RI in 2013 as artists in residence at the Providence-based arts organization, AS220; at the time, they were visiting from Cuba, where they were known and enmeshed in the arts and hip hop scene. More information about their visit is below, as well as ways to connect to their art: → http://as220.org/omni-zonafranca-cuban-art-performance-in-providence/ → https://www.facebook.com/omni.zonafranca → http://omnifestivalpoesiasinfin.blogspot.com/ *** Sonic Watermelons Contact Info: www.bsrlive.com venussings.wordpress.com/about-sonic-watermelons-on-bsr/ Facebook: @sonicwatermelons Twitter: @WatermelonRadio Soundcloud: @sonicwatermelons iTunes: “sonic watermelons” *** Sonic Staff & Volunteers Reza Clifton Deejay Kellan Jessica LaBrie Kabir Lambo Jose Ramirez