A microphone slowly descended upon the stage. The man reached it swiftly, his hand pumped into the air and a loud yell reverberated throughout the Jogja National Museum. The DJ played the LPs, the audience swayed along with the beat.
The forum is called Bakurima. It’s a musical forum carrying the unrest that happened in Eastern Indonesia. As a closing act of Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021 exhibition, the forum was arranged with hellhouse and driven by the contributors from Eastern Indonesia in Jogja. The main performers in this forum are Bacill, Mario Zwinkle, Keilandboi, Muria, PresidenTidore, Uncle T, DJ Kateratchy, and Lacosmusixx.
The young rappers gathered, celebrating and expressing their aspirations. The narrative of various social, political, and cultural problems that happened in Eastern Indonesia they told with the beats of rap songs. Stern, loud narratives, using music as an artistic criticism medium.
As the closing arrangement for Biennale Jogja XVI Equator #6 2021, the forum was comprised of three rounds. The first round was an open mic where the audience or anyone present could come up the stage and express their agitation.
The second round started where the performers started to rap, made spontaneously on the stage. The last, third, round, was for a song prepared by Hellhouse. Even though they’ve reached the final round, the rappers’ and the audience’s spirits still burn brightly.
“Move, move! One, two, three, Bakurima move!” the screams echoed until the end, lighting the fires in the audience to sing along.
For the past few years, hip-hop music has expanded rapidly in Eastern Indonesia. The hip-hop music growth was originally introduced by Afro-American musicians. The distinct music presents rap lyrics resembling paced talking. Hip-hop music was made to express disgust at expression, discrimination, and social inequality.
Along with Bakurima, the Biennale Jogja XVI committee also presented a choir. The song they performed was made by the first curator in the land of Papua, Arnold Clemens Ap. The song, called “Nyanyian Sunyi” or “Silent Singing”, reverberated, inviting the audience to join in on the song that tells the story of the beautiful and picturesque land of Papua. But, it has also become “a discarded Eden” that, until now, still suffers from poverty and structural violence.
