VIDEO: Urban poet using hip hop to break down barriers

Rathcoole-born hip hop artist Jun Tzu - aka Johnny Hamilton - was back in Northern Ireland this week giving lyrical masterclasses to groups of children and young people.
By The Newsroom
Published 6th Sep 2013, 10:48 BST
Urban poet: Hip hop artist Johnny Hamilton aka Jun Tzu pictured in the Rathcoole estate, where he lived before moving to Manchester.Urban poet: Hip hop artist Johnny Hamilton aka Jun Tzu pictured in the Rathcoole estate, where he lived before moving to Manchester.
Urban poet: Hip hop artist Johnny Hamilton aka Jun Tzu pictured in the Rathcoole estate, where he lived before moving to Manchester.

Having moved to Manchester with his family when he was just eight years old, Johnny had a troubled childhood and dropped out of school at a young age, eventually turning to poetry and hip hop as a way of expressing himself, dealing with his feelings and making sense of the world around him.

Taking on the name Jun Tzu and rapping in his native Belfast accent, Johnny’s street poetry proved popular among his peers.

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Now aged 26, he has a growing fan base across the UK, Ireland and beyond thanks to tracks such as Troublesome, Wee Johnny and The Bridge, which have attracted thousands of hits online. He is known for his gritty lyrics and powerful imagery, taking inspiration from The Troubles, sectarian division and violence, family strife and even personal grief to produce his music.

Urban poet: Hip hop artist Johnny Hamilton aka Jun Tzu pictured in the Rathcoole estate, where he lived before moving to Manchester.Urban poet: Hip hop artist Johnny Hamilton aka Jun Tzu pictured in the Rathcoole estate, where he lived before moving to Manchester.
Urban poet: Hip hop artist Johnny Hamilton aka Jun Tzu pictured in the Rathcoole estate, where he lived before moving to Manchester.

The son of a convicted UVF man, Johnny believes Northern Ireland can have a brighter future if more people, particularly young people, challenge the old sectarian divisions.

“It’s about breaking down barriers and boundaries and looking at things rationally and remembering it’s 2013, not 1916,” he said.

As well as performing gigs in Bangor and Belfast this week, Johnny was also delighted to get the chance to work with children and young people at schools and youth groups in loyalist and nationalist areas - a part of his work he’s extremely passionate about.

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“I show them fundamental basics of writing poetry to express themselves and talk about issues that they would otherwise feel embarrassed to talk about and it gets them to open up and to look at who they really are,” he explained.

“I want to see the youth realise that we can make a better future for ourselves through education and information. We have to teach the kids how to express themselves in a constructive way and give them hope and aspirations so that we can move on into a new era.”

Jun Tzu has already released an EP (Troubles Comin), and is hoping his album ‘The Troubles’ will be available on iTunes later this year.

• Read the full interview in the Newtownabbey Times, September 12 edition.

Related topics:Northern IrelandManchesterBelfast