Ruff sqwad arts foundation
Our Projects & Events
Stay up to date with all of the Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation’s events and projects. Here is some of our latest news!
On October 26th Newham x RSAF collaborated to celebrate Black History Month for an event called Beats to Legacy in Stratford Town Hall.
RSAF x Reload Sessions w/Balamii
Ballamii Radio, a renowned platform for discovering and promoting emerging artists, has once again played a pivotal role in launching the careers of talented musicians. Season 9 and 8 graduates were given the extraordinary opportunity to showcase their skills on the same platform that has seen the likes of Central Cee and Dave grace it’s studio.
Newham Annual Windrush Day Event
The Newham Windrush Day event was funded by The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and, took place on August 2024, the day was a celebration of vibrant filled activities and entertainment including local business stalls, art workshops by Antonietta Torsiello and Sakafet London, and family storytelling.
Belly of the East (Short Film)
"Belly Of The East" is an impactful short film written by young people as part of The Full Clip Winternship pilot program which was funded by Westfield Eastbank creative Futures Fund) and was delivered @ the Spotlight Centre across 12 months.
Flee FM (Premiere)
Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation Co-founders Ebs and Prince made an epic return to the music scene with “Flee FM”. which is a 7-track project of original music. Accompanied by a conceptual short film that transcends time and resonates with the pulsating essence of urban music culture, the Ruff Sqwad crew journeys back to the raw essence of a pirate radio set, revisiting the natural settings that birthed their early pioneering sonics.
Grime Pays
Grime Pays Season 7
Grime Pays season 7 took place in June 2021 half term, with 5 young people whilst adhering to government covid restrictions, the young people took part in music sessions focussed on beats production, lyric writing and engineering.
Grime Pays Season 8
Season 8 offered 14 young creatives aged 14-16 an immersive experience into the music industry, from producing beats to writing lyrics. This season, participants are visited by rap artist Proph, who shares insights on turning personal experiences into music.
Grime Pays Season 9
Season 9 took 16 young creatives aged 16-18 on an exciting journey through the world of music, from beat-making and lyric challenges to real industry experiences. Participants visited BBC 1Xtra, where they learned the ins and outs of radio broadcasting and had hands-on experience with studio equipment.
The Space Community Sessions
The Space Community sessions funded by FFL and Westfield Creative Fund provided paid opportunities for 37 local young people to create content, influence, and share their perspectives
RSAF Announces Partnership Trnd Central for Discuss and Devour Podcast
We're thrilled to announce a new partnership with Andy Amadi and Trnd Central for the upcoming season of our podcast, Discuss and Devour.
Lights Up Showcase
In Feb 2023 Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation (RSAF) partnered with Certain Blacks, an East London arts development organisation, to showcase young artists from around the UK at the exciting event - Lights Up. This live youth showcase was held at Rich Mix in Bethnal Green and aimed to nurture diverse artists to help them reach their full potential.
The Full Clip Winternship
The Full Clip Winternship pilot offers an exciting new opportunity for young people to gain valuable knowledge and experience within the screen/stage/music industries. This program offers paid training and shadowing opportunities with top industry professionals / mentors, including screenwriters, directors, actors, film producers, cinematographers, music producers, and more. The aim of this initiative is for young aspiring creatives to gain tools, knowledge and resources that will help them to take their technical skills to the next level as well as essential life skills and confidence.
Discuss & Devour podcast season 3
Discuss & Devour podcast season 4
Mu-School
In August 2022 Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation (RSAF) officially launched a new music project called Mu-School.
Newham Unlocked Festival 2022
As part of Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation’s (RSAF) wider Newham engagement strategy the foundation took part in two incredible events as part of the Newham Unlocked Festival.
A Change For All - Documentary Project (Newham Heritage Month)
In June 2022 as part of Newham Heritage month Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation worked with a group of young creatives in a series of workshops to create a short documentary, music and poems based on their perspectives of living in Newham and their perspective on the legacy of the 2012 Olympic Games.
Queen’s Jubilee Celebration Concert
In June 2022 Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation took part in a series of workshops to write and produce music alongside a short film to showcase in a festival in The ‘Knees Up Festival’ in Royal Docks.
Queen’s Baton Relay
In June 2022 the Commonwealth Games commenced in Birmingham and as part of the opening ceremony the Queen’s Baton Relay took a 294-day long journey to every corner of the Commonwealth before it finally reached the Royal Docks.
Grime Stories Exhibition
In June 2022 young people from Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation and Co-founders Prince & Ebs featured in an amazing Grime exhibition celebrating grime’s story of Black and working class ingenuity.
Discuss & Devour podcast season 1
As a result of the success of the Discuss and Devour pilots and the demand from the public, Discuss and Devour returned to the screens with new episodes and more exciting youth-centric topics.
Discuss & Devour podcast season 2
The Discuss & Devour podcast is a youth-led initiative where young people get the chance to voice their opinions on a range of different topics and issues which are relevant in today’s current climate. Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation believe that this podcast will play an essential role in giving young people the platform to become agents of positive social change as well as bridging the gap between different cultures, and serve as a key agent in promoting intercultural understanding. We are super excited that The Joe Strummer Foundation funded this pilot and continue supporting Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation and the young people
Grime Pays X Royal Docks
The Grime Pays X Royal Docks program was a 6 weeks initiative for young people who live in the Royal Docks area , they were provided with advanced talent development sessions which included, beat making, lyric writing, performance skills, software and technical skills, team work, critiquing and career development. The young people explored all facets of the music industry and some Grime Pays graduates were provided with employment opportunities to support the Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation staff throughout the program.
Grime Pays X Royal Docks Advanced Performance Skills Sessions
Grime Pays graduates were provided with the chance to take part in additional performance skills workshops to continue developing their skills as there was a high demand for more opportunities. Alongside these workshops we filmed a music video for one of the tracks which the young people created during the Grime pays x Royal Docks project. All the footage captured was used to provide content for the Royal Docks Cultural strategy Lunch where we were given a platform to speak about the work we do as a charity.
Grime Pays extension
The Covid Pandemic affected the number of applicants which we could accept onto the program, these restrictions plus the demand by the young people for more support led us to provide additional studio sessions for the young people to produce and write music. their own music. We picked the best tracks over the 10 sessions and rewarded the young young people with a music video.
The Arrivals
We collaborated with Beatbox Academy to take part in a theatre show where the local community and young people from Royal Docks and Newham were taken on a visual audio journey through the local streets of the Royal Docks with music, beatboxing, dance and an animated film projection projected onto the iconic Millennium Mills. Grime Pays graduates Style, Mello and Deekay performed alongside the Beatbox Academy in a blistering performance which saw UK Rap and beatboxing merge to create a completely unique hybrid of sonics, creativity and colour.
Fading - Short Film
Fading is a short film which was written by Grime Pays graduates Tofi & Olu Sobodu with the help of Suzi Ewing. Our young people were involved throughout the whole creative process from script writing, set design, acting, producing/writing music, costume designs, filming and editing.
Synopsis: A young up and coming artist's world is turned upside down when a brutal attack leaves her wounded whilst her attacker faces an uphill struggle to redemption.
You Cant Handle The Summer Booth Challenge
In June 2020 we worked with Mc’s, sound engineers and producers who gained experience in recording, performance skills, beats & lyric production, how to generate income from music and the skill of how to self-critique. The young people also planned and recorded an EP as well as filming music videos for marketing tools.
Joe Strummer Foundation Studio Sessions
In 2019 (Summer) Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation and Producer Rowntree worked with 15 young people aged 15-20 – 13 MCs, 1 producer and 1 sound engineer over 10 studio sessions. Advanced talent development elements included beats, lyrics, track production, performance, software and technical skills, team work, critiquing and career development.
SERIOUS SESSIONS
In July 2020 we delivered the “Serious Sessions” program which gave young people a starting point that directly connected them with music industry skills, experience, professionals, further training and networks which also gave the young people an advantage in progressing into the many career & freelance opportunities available inside and outside the studio.
One Time
In light of the Black Lives Matter protests and demonstrations, Grime Pays Graduates S.T.Y.L.E and Mello produce a new heartfelt track ‘One Time’.
Grime Pays #5
Grime Pays returns on GRM Daily for an Autumn special, taking 8 talented young people on a series of challenges, and workshops.
“Ride For My Bros”
Grime Pays graduates Mello and Style launch their new single and visuals “Ride For My Bros”
Grime Pays #4
Grime Pays is back with its fourth season! Follow this group of young people on their journey discovering the music industry.
Grime Pays #3
Grime Pays is back with its third season! Follow this group of young people on their journey discovering the music industry.
Grime Pays Music Video
Grime Pays Season 3 grads are back with their new music video!
Street Art Wall
Earlier this year the foundation had the privilege of having a mural on the world famous Shoreditch Art Wall.
Grime Pays #2
The Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation returned with Grime Pays series 2 in July 2018 with 12 talented 16-20 year olds.
Grime Back
Grime Pays artist Litty Lightz has gone from strength to strength under the mentorship of Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation's Prince Rapid & Slix.
Turbo Technical
In August 2017 visual artist Ultrafry and grime pioneer Prince Rapid, hosted a groundbreaking event called Turbo Technical.
Jazz Café
On Sunday the 18th of June Prince Rapid presented a once in a lifetime event at the world famous Jazz Cafe in Camden.
Grime Pays #1
Grime Pays aimed to give young people an insight and experience into the music industry.
Grime up the River
Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation and artists Dash N’ Dem paid tribute to the cultural story of east London through Grime music.
NLA
On Wednesday 5 April Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation's very own Slix and Prince Rapid were present at the private view of ‘Lea River Park: a new landscape for London’, exhibition.
YCHTB
You Can’t Handle The Booth is a open access music session in which young people can write, record, and engineer music.
Arts Kickers
Ruff Sqwad Arts Foundation recently won an ArtsKickers Award on March 29th in the “Kickstarter” category.