Hip Hop Saves Lives releases “Refugees Welcome” its fist full length documentary featuring music from Uganda’s Sosolya Dance Academy, Hip Hop Saves Lives and Timeless NPO.
The documentary features the stories of 3 South Sudanese refugees living in Uganda. We interviewed them on camera and created musical compositions from their stories using traditional African music fused with Hip Hop.
We are in the midst of the largest migration since World War 2. Clips of refugees are in our news daily from continents across the globe. Europe has claimed a refugee crisis yet 95% of refugees flee to other parts of their own country or a boarding country. We took a look inside this crisis to better understand who is actually carrying the weight and to better understand the experiences refugees go through.
South Sudan has been at war longer then any African country in recent history. Uganda has taken over a million South Sudanese and refugees from Congo, Rwanda and more. Uganda’s refugee policies have been praised as one of the most progressive in the world.
We believe sharing refugees stories in detail and using music as a vessel to reach ears that otherwise may be closed will help us better understand how to serve them. The end goal of this project is to celebrate those who have welcomed refugees with open arms and help them to understand that we must address the mental health of refugees.
Steve, Alor and Sheila, the principal personalities of this documentary shed light through their stories on the deep need for addressing mental health. You can hear it in their voices, see it in their eyes as their stories rip through you.
We thank all artists from Sosolya Dance Academy, Gxnzo from Timeless NPO, MC Spyda and MC Flower from Bavubuka Dynasty, DoubleOmsome, Bridget Barkan, Ronah and ShaqDup!