Hip-Hop comes to the Lotissement 

Prades le Lez isn’t noted for its hip urban youth. It’s a large village 10km north of Montpellier, but seized within the agglomeration’s grasp for its most valuable asset – the source of the city’s water – the river Lez. 

Like other villages it holds a variety of festivals, parades and carnival. So far, so good and all so very easy to deal with. Controversy doesn’t come easily to these parts, but last night it came in hoards and with hoods on. You see, the chap responsible for the culture programme is a rare beast for a southern French village. He’s a wildly eclectic, well connected person with great ideas. He has brought national orchestras, African dancers and jazz bands to the sleepy salle de fetes. The crowning glory to his crown of eclecticism is the Cultur’ Jeunes festival. This year was the fourth and I see no reason for it to stop: despite the old ladies shaking their heads, despite the astonishing number of hip-hop accros lurking around the village square and despite the music throbbing through the night. Why? Because it was totally different and the energy swirling through the air was something that a village like this needs. 

So, what is Cultur’ Jeunes about? It’s about Hip Hop ladies. And, no I knew very little about this either. I tootled along on the basket-with-bike to cut a very unlikely figure in the crowd. Hundreds of people who are never seen during daylight were there. For a village like this, the cars of people rolling up for the evening, were a shock introduction to culture of the very different kind. Young men with trousers that needed pulling up or the legs rolling down, young ladies with clothes that needed to be, well there just needed to be more of them and even young children with old folks like me were getting into that thang.  

That thang was the ‘battle de danse’. Two opposing groups of shambling guys lumped onto the stage and then suddenly became elegant, rule conforming dancers. They faced each other, each team member took a turn to hip and hop while both sides watched and made seriously down-with-the-kids gestures of approval. There was order and beauty. Gawky youths had a moments pride in their form. Those boys know how to dance, albeit in that rolling around the floor waving your legs kind of way. I never knew that Hip Hop had that kind of discipline and respect, sister. 

Even Lotissement people appreciate beauty, especially one that seems to draw together such a disparate group of people. I can’t say that the drubbing spittle heavy music did much for me. But it united us Lotissment folk in the Sunday night trundle to put the bin out. Even the man with the wooden leg, who never says Bonjour within sight of his insane wife and daughter, managed to roll his eyes and jerk his head in the direction of the music. See, Hip Hop is a great unifier.

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Copyright Helen Bevis