THE LION BLOG: The Street University

Sep 23, 2009 Web Blog
Posted by L-FRESH AKA The LION

The Street University is the place to be. Plain and simple. It has been opened in January, earlier this year, and for me it seems like life wouldn’t be the same without The Street University. So what is The Street University?

The Street Uni was founded by Matt Noffs and Naomi Kemmerer. It began as a vision of a space for young people in need and quickly became an idea that grew and expanded. It constantly became much more with each passing day. The Street Uni is based in Liverpool, Sydney’s South West @ 1 Speed Street (You can’t miss it. There’s a massive billboard saying The Street University above it, featuring the one and only Public Enemy crew who officially opened The Street Uni at the Grand Opening).

Now, The Street Uni stands as a monument to collective community effort in the push for unity and the creation of opportunities. It is home to a movement, an ideology, and is the home of Hip-Hop. As soon as you walk in, you are exposed to the highest standard of graffiti art, with the main piece crafted by the legendary Mistery. To the right is a legal graffiti wall for pieces. To the left is a legal graffiti wall for throw-ups. To the front you’ll see the office/studio/lab complex. All of this is when you walk across the basketball court. As you walk towards the complex, the cafe is based on the left extension, where you might see people chillin’ having a feed. Within the complex itself theres two recording studios, a multimedia room (Da Lab), a library, numerous classrooms and an office.

The Street University is also home to the HipHoperations Record Label. The label is run by the collective at The Street University (Matt, Naomi, Sie-1 & Tom Rock) and also The Street University Crew (including, but not limited to the zZzILLAZ, New South West & Steady Flowin’). The idea being that the collective contributes to the greater good of the label and has a say in the labels functioning. In this way, we are truly independent. Artists/producers have total control where we all realise the bigger picture and understand our roles so that we as a collective can paint that picture.

Most of my time is spent at The Street University these days. I’ve gained so much from just spending time there. I feel like I’ve grown as a person exponentially, of which I have never experienced before. I was talking about it with Matt today, when I realised that I’ve always had ideas and visions within myself for my future and for the world. When I came to The Street University I was given a place to express these ideas and visions and also met other people with similar ideas and visions and also differing opinions, which just expanded my mind greatly.

If you haven’t been to The Street University then you’ve gotta come check it out. I’ll leave you with a saying that we frequently use at The Street Uni:

That’s how we do!

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