As fundraisers go, if there is one that you should support this year, its this one.

I Cant Live Without My Radio is a group show honouring Queen Spice, in which a whole slew of some of Australias best graffiti talent is getting together to put works on the walls in order to raise some much needed funds to support one of the greatest graff artists to come out of this country!

“If Hip Hop in Australia has a mother, her name is Sharline “Spice” Bezzina.

Spice is one of the country’s most important Hip Hop pioneers. In the 1980s she was a fearless teen who set the stage for the genre’s huge success in Australia today. A world renowned graffiti writer, iconic rapper and respected youth worker, Spice is also a mother and a dear friend.

Now the local Hip-Hop community is coming together to give back to Spice. We are working to raise funds to help Spice afford vital preventative cancer treatments, surgery, medication and therapy on a number of debilitating injuries caused by an accident in 2011. The downward spiral in her health has taken its toll on Spice and her family and resulted in 6 years of chronic pain and suffering. We are asking all of those with a love for Spice and an appreciation for local Hip Hop to show their support.

Now is the time to give back to someone who has been a mentor and inspiration to so many of us.

ABOUT SPICE:

Spice’s influence began in the early 1980s. Beginning as a b-girl, she then helped define rap in Australia as one of the country’s first MCs, and became a titan of the graffiti scene as a world renowned writer. 

In 1988, at the tender age of 15, Spice was Australia’s first solo MC on vinyl, recording “Hardcore Love” for the Virgin/EMI Hip-Hop compilation “Down Under By Law”. She toured the country and opened for Hip-Hop royalty Ice-T at the Enmore Theatre. She has graced television screens, appeared on movie soundtracks, in magazines, hosted numerous radio programs, managed tours for Hip-Hop legends, and all to represent the culture she loved. Her influence has set the stage for Hip-Hop icons ranging from Def Wish Cast to the Hilltop Hoods.

Spice is known to most today as one of the world’s finest graffiti writers. A master of style, graffiti is the element of Hip-Hop Spice has made her own. A pioneer since the 80s, her amazing spray-painted works across walls, black books and fashion, have been an inspiration for young artists, male and female alike. Throughout her illustrious career she has had many highlights including representing Australia at We B Girlz Festival in Berlin, helping paint the first ever mural on the National Black Theatre in Harlem, painting every borough in NYC & several parts of Europe, exhibiting her work in New York, Amsterdam n Australia wide, and being featured in the Powerhouse Museums “Back to the 80’s” exhibit.

Even in the face of injury and illness, Spice’s creativity, passion for Hip-Hop and her community has continued. She is an accomplished youth worker, giving an opportunity to the next generation of artists through workshops and procurement of legal walls and spaces, and a loving mother, raising two talented children who have become amazing artists in their own right. Spice is a creative fire that continues to burn.”

Head to the Go Fund Me page to make a donation to this great charity as well as head down to the exhibition itself to grab some work for this more than worthy cause!!

Who: Agony, Awes, Break, Chock, Deb Fineberg, Dosey, Duel, Dvate, Gianna Lucia, Gunnz, Heart, Heesco, Inpacks, Jack Douglas, Jest, Jors, Ling, Lyns, Mitch Walder, Nicole Tattersall, Porno, Peps, Petals, Pixie, Poise, Presto, Rachee Renee, Rifsy, Sabeth, Sear, Shem, Shime, Siege, Silk, Steve Cross, Sumo, Swupe, Task, Taystee, Toots
What: I Cant Live Without My Radio – Queen Spice fundraiser group show
Where: Workshop 195 Argyle St, Fitzroy, VIC
When: Show runs Friday 12th May 2017 from 6pm til 9pm – one night only!