5 Of A Kind: This Festival Celebrates Five Pillars Of Street Culture With A Hip-Hop Core

5 Of A Kind is a union of street culture across dance, music, art, fashion and food (Credit: All images courtesy of 5 Of A Kind)

The soul of hip-hop was birthed from the streets, and this community event is honouring these roots with a nexus of subcultures. First paving the crossroads with its inaugural edition last year, 5 Of A Kind Street Art Festival makes a comeback with this three-day throwdown at D’Marquee @ Downtown East.

So what’s the low-down here? 5 Of A Kind (5OAK) is centred around a devotion to street dance and urban art, with its debut attracting over 600 attendees with its programme of dance battles and workshops. It’s a context that 5OAK is keeping afloat this year, with a celebration of five dance styles encompassing waacking, locking, popping hip-hop and breaking; featuring international dance icons, emcees and DJs.

But beyond this dance-inclined tradition, 5OAK is beefing up the bill with a full-fledged programme that, like its name, elevates five disciplines in total – dance, music, street art, fashion and food. Part of this medley of activities is Efficacity, an urban art exhibition featuring live paintings from homegrown street artists. Street apparel and footwear are up for grabs at the 5OAK Marketplace. And then you have Makan on Wheels, a pop-up food village with food truck-themed offerings.

The Ripple is the mini music festival happening within the 5OAK event

Naturally our crosshairs are locked on this event’s musical scope, and as it turns out, there’s a mini-festival happening within this festival. 5OAK is also playing host to The Ripple, a live gig outlet for alternative musicians, producers and rappers. Expect streetwise bars and flowy verses from the likes of ABANGSAPAU, Tengy and Mary Sue for a mix of old-school and new-age hip-hop. You’ve got the ever-experimental electronic whims of Fauxe and the instrumental textures of beatmaker Cravism. Topped with The Cosmic Owls for heady doses of funk and jazz, and you have a lineup that stays true to this all-rounded hip-hop affair.

5 Of A Kind Street Art Festival, 29 September to 1 October 2023, D’Marquee @ Downtown East, 1 Pasir Ris Close, Singapore 519599. Follow their Instagram page for more details on programme and tickets.