Hip Hop Yacht Rock fundraises for Highland talent and celebrates hip hop's 50th
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A unique music event coming to Cromarty on Saturday is testament to the resilience of one of the main organisers recovering from a shock life-changing diagnosis and emergency operation.
The Hip-Hop Yacht Rock Afterparty celebrating 50 years of hip-hop with guests and DJs is dedicated to raising funds for Highlands Youth Development (HYD), a non-profit organisation launched in 2022, aiming to build purpose-built sports, fitness, and dance facilities on the Black Isle.
But while planning the event, after a lifetime in professional dance and sport and fitness, Kojo Agyei was stopped in his tracks by a phone call out of the blue from a neurosurgeon...
Q What happened when you got that phone call?
A Having come from a professional dance, fitness and sport background, that had left its mark with osteoarthritis. I had already had my right hip replaced and have been told I will need the left one done too. But out of the blue, a neurosurgeon phoned me – you couldn’t make this up! – and said to me: “You have to have an operation on your neck in two weeks or you will be in danger of being paralysed from the neck down.” I live in Cromarty and she was calling from Aberdeen. I had recently had a scan after I had complained about pain in my knee. It turned out the neurosurgeon had sent me for the scan. When she phoned, she said was looking at the scan as she spoke to me. Two of my vertebrae were pressing on my spinal cord, but I hadn’t had pain, just pins and needles. I had the operation, but wasn’t allowed to do anything for four weeks afterwards, so that delayed our event which has gone from being my friend and hip hop legend KGee (Karl Gordon) coming up to DJ, to what we are doing on Saturday!
Q I think you set up Highlands Youth Development which is what the event on Saturday is fundraising for – so what is HYD all about?
A I set it up a couple of years ago. Since I came up here I have seen a lot of talented kids but not the same opportunities for them as down south – I was brought up in Brighton and had lived in London. Up here, I was trying to do something myself and was doing that with football and dance and I am a coach with Inverness Caledonian Thistle. One of the boys I started working with progressed to the football academy and I was asked to coach there as well. And I noticed when coaching the lack of facilities in the area for football – especially in the winter. On the Black Isle there are no full-size artificial pitches or indoor pitches. We set up a foundation to work in three stages: setting up classes; raising money to find a suitable place; and the third stage is to get all the money we need to build it!
Q Has it been difficult getting the event back on track after having to postpone for your operation and recovery?
A I lost six weeks of preparation so I’ve been playing catch-up. I already had KGee lined up to come and DJ. We also have Cameron Jay – her story is insane. I used to live in Aberdeen and her mum was one of my personal training and yoga clients and she told me about Cameron’s amazing voice and asked me if I would meet up with her when I was next down in London where Cameron was at the time. We met in a coffee shop and she sang there and then and I was shocked, she has such a great soul voice. We became friends – she had cancer as a youngster and when it came back, she lost her liver. It will be the first time she has sung since and Cameron will be performing a tribute to iconic female artists of hip hop.
Q Others appearing on the night?
A We also have DJ Butterscotch from Dingwall. The event is to raise money, but it’s also about putting on a good night and showcasing Highland talent.
Q Tell us a bit more about your special guest KGee and his career?
A Karl Gordon, KGee is a world-renowned record producer, songwriter, artist, DJ and founding member of legendary 90s hip-hop duo Outlaw Posse. But I have known and been friends with him since he was 18! After releasing two critically-acclaimed albums, he went on to remix work for acts such as Gang Starr, N.O.R.E, Pras (Fugees), Queen Latifah and George Michael. Karl then took the production skills he had learned developing his own work to the very top. He by then was merging his love of hip hop with pop music to produce 'hip-pop' and then one of the most successful British girl bands of all time –All Saints. His extensive production and writing credits in his career so far include six multi-platinum albums, four gold albums and several number one singles which, have worldwide sales collectively of over 10 million copies. Other highlights have been developing a reputation as a top DJ and he has toured with Busta Rhymes and Snoop Dogg. Over the years he has held high-profile residencies in the hottest clubs in London and throughout Europe. We are excited to have him on the Black Isle where Highland air meets hip-hop flair! Kojo's own interview with KGee here:
Q What is the ‘yacht rock’ mentioned for anyone who might not have come across the term before?
A A regatta is on in Cromarty this weekend and our event follows that! And yacht rock – which was a smooth, soft rock from the West Coast of America around the mid-70s with people like The Doobie Brothers' Michael McDonald, Steely Dan – was often sampled by hip hop – some of that also from the West Coast. And we also liked the way "Hip Hop Yacht Rock..." sounded together for the title of the event!
The Hip-Hop Yacht Rock Afterparty is on Saturday from 8pm at The Stables in Cromarty DETAILS
