For my graduation, I wanted my project to feel like a full circle. It all starts with the Thesis, being a feminist conscious rap Mixtape.

It became the core of my project the moment i decided to write theory creatively. I have always looked for new was to learn.

Meaning that the thesis is written as a selection of rap songs honoring and digging out names from the history of Female MCs in Hip Hop since its root.

NADJA FARIA BARBOSA
(A.K.A. DJAH & MS.KIWI)
FINE ARTS
0996990

The next step for my graduation project was to record all of these songs in my studio in Ijzerblok, where i built a DIY recording studio. I wanted to have both a physical (readable) and audio (listenable) version of the Thesis.
As a Dyslexic person i found this detail important as for my research, i used an AI of Snoop Dogg to translate text to speech in order to facilitate the process.

The plan is to have the thesis in Vinyl.
After having everything recorded and mastered, i made a cover for it.

I want to show case the thesis in a way that still reflects my topic:

IN HONOR OF THE VENOM

My name is Nadja Barbosa, I am a multidisciplinary artist from Cabo Verde and Guinea Bissau. I grew up in Switzerland in Zurich, and now I am here Graduation from WDKA. In my practice I include painting, drawing/illustration (along with graphics if needed), producing music, singing/rapping, Tattooing, DJ and Live performance. Most of my projects include these practices (not necessarily all at the same time yet most likely multiple). My graduation project is no different, as I have been working with scenography, painting and music.

LET'S FLIP IT AND REVERSE IT

My thesis is about women putting their foot down in Male Dominated spaces, much like Hip Hop. I felt the need to talk about this because during my OUT Period, when I was freelancing as an event producer, music producer and performer, and was too was the only woman in a male dominated space; often times I felt unheard and discredited for my work compared to all the other men included in the production. So when I heard about Hip Hop Feminism (first formulated by Joan Morgan), I knew it was the right research path for my thesis and project.

I want my final project to be a listening event of the Vinyl. The Vinyl will be displayed there but not played. It can obviously be looked at and observed. But what I had in mind as a Listening event is to have a performance of a few songs during the Graduation Show. For this I want to design a stage that illustrated further the feeling i want to convey with this project.

I decided to have behind me on stage while I perform; a painting of Sylvia Robinson braiding Missy Elliott braiding Little Simz on a Door. (the 3 generations of Hip Hop inspiring and opening doors for each other: "Each one teach one, pass the message")

(The Vinyl was a decision that came later in my creative process of writing the thesis therefore i had to squeeze in some time in my planning to do this. I felt like it was essential for the project to have a physical audio version of the thesis. I decided to go for it because this project is an ongoing project i see myself continue to work on it after the graduation. Hence there is a strong possibility that the work that will be presented at the graduation show will have had suffered a few alterations, which is natural to my artistic process.)

I will then build a small staircase based of palettes that i will order once I have access to the space I will exhibit in in the academy.
i will cover the palettes with a dark fabric .
The Idea is to basically imitate a staircase,
giving the same feeling as the stair case in the painting.