Ben Sharpa

Born in the ghetto slums of Soweto, Johannesburg, Ben Sharpa has built himself up as a premiere figure in the underground Hip Hop scene all over South Africa. He has been involved in Hip Hop as a freestyle mc, performance artist, producer and lyricist for over 12 yrs.

In 1999 he relocated to Cape Town to redefine himself and explore new territories, which proved very beneficial to his crusade in creating an environment which would allow many more individuals to appreciate and respect Hip Hop as an artform as well as a culture and lifestyle.

He was instrumental in starting several legendary crews, ie. GroundWorks and Audio Visual. Recognized as a veteran in Hip Hop, B Sharpa uses the art as a medium of expression in the areas of social awareness, creativity and street life in general.

He has also travelled and toured in London, sharing the stage with artists such as Immortal Technique (June 2005), Jonzi-D (June 2003), Black Thought (August 2001), Mr. Len and Gene Grae (May 2001). Locally, he has had the opportunity to tour all over the country, spreading his Hip Hop propaganda to youth and elders alike.

In 2003, he won a nation-wide freestyle battle competition sposnored by a local cellular network (MTN). This not only gave him notoriety and country-wide exposure, but also won him an opportunity to go to London and meet Eminem during the artists Anger Management tour.

In June-July 2005, he was involved in the Flight 5065 Vertikal Cipher, a historic event hosted by Café Direct and established as a run-up to the Live-8 concert in the UK. In June 2006, Sharpa headlined alongside Wordsworth (US) and Jonzi-D (UK) as part of the Tri-Continental Hip Hop Fest – a historical 3-city hip hop tour that was held to commemorate the 30th anniversary of Youth Month in South Africa. He is also a founding member of the performance crew for the annual Hip-Hop Connected lyrical theatre event held at Artscape Theatre in Cape Town every September (Heritage Month).

Ben Sharpa on myspace