Rap Fest is cafe’s cup of tea

IT was definitely a case of Rappers’ Delight for members of Oldham Writing Cafe who learned about the musical style during Rap Fest.

The writing group were visited by rappers Double A, also known as Adam Adamson, Barry B, who goes by the name of Barry Blades, and his daughter Yolanda Blades.

Members were treated to a performance from all three who displayed their lyrical abilities and verbal skills, before a question and answer session was held.

Then it was the turn of group members, aged 12 to 81, who took it in turn to create their own raps and rhymes accompanied by a steady beat.

Carolyn Crossley (54), of Littlemoor, is the group chairman and co-ordinator. The grandmother-of-three said: “Both Double A and Barry B are rappers but Barry does more gospel rapping, quite cutting edge stuff.

“Adam is more what we imagined rap to be, he raps about his experiences and his life.

“We played a game where we had to give someone two verses and they had to rap and rhyme it. The results were hilarious!

“We would love to invite them back and do something else. And Adam was talking about joining the group as he was interested in short-story writing.”

Oldham Writing Cafe was formed last August and has grown from three to 14 members. The group was created after one of the founder members thought it would a great idea to combine a love of literature and food.

Mrs Crossley added: “The group is for everybody, from people who write for a hobby to those who want to make a living out of it.

“One of our members is Freda Millet, who is a published author, and another is Sefton Greene who writes children’s books and is dyslexic. We share ideas and hold workshops, if someone has a particular skill they can share it with the rest of the group.”

Talks have been held on writing poetry to on-line reviewing, and how to pitch a script to publishers.

Mrs Crossley said: “We’ve also had a couple of authors as guest speakers.

“We are here to share a love of writing but also to expand and improve. Recently, we were awarded a grant of £3,5000 for our project entitled ‘From Misty Memory to Feisty Fiction’. The project entails interviewing, taking down myths and legends and fictionalising them. We will use the cash to publish an anthology.”

Oldham Writing Cafe meets every Saturday at the Canon George Hall, Chapel Road, Hollinwood, apart from the first of the month, from 11.30am to 1.30pm. Admission is £1, including tea and coffee. Lunch is available for £2. For more information, call 07968-993 497.