Epo D'Fenomeno Empowers Young People through Rap

Epo D'Fenomeno is one of the successful rap singers in Papua who started his career since 2008. Epo also opens free training classes to motivate young people to pursue their dreams as artists.

The following article was translated using both Microsoft Azure Open AI and Google Translation AI.

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Epo D'Fenomeno or his real name, Onesias Chelvox Urbinas, is a highly accomplished rap singer from Papua. Epo has produced two solo albums and written hundreds of rap songs.

Epo D'Fenomeno is not only a rap singer from Papua who has produced hundreds of songs during his 15-year career journey. The man with the real name Onesias Chelvox Urbinas has also initiated free learning classes for the young generation in Jayapura who aspire to become hip-hop artists.

Epo is busy singing at his studio located in the Abepura area, Jayapura City, mid-May 2023. Epo is currently preparing his solo album, Jayapurap. There are five songs on this album.

The studio is both a home and the headquarters of the music label company Rum Fararur owned by Epo. There are six in-house artists, including Omcom SB, on the Rum Fararur music label established by Epo in 2020. Rum Fararur is the native language of Epo's father's hometown, Kabupaten Biak Numfor. Rum Fararur means house for work.

Epo also implements the Keladi Bete program which stands for Open Learning Class. On one occasion, Epo and one of his students, Febri Renyaan, opened a free class for singing rap and making graffiti in the Keladi Bete Program or Open Learning Class initiated by Epo in the last two years.

Also read: Free Rap and Graffiti Classes for Youth in Jayapura

Epo provided techniques for rap singing, while his friend Baby presented material on how to make graffiti sketches. Around 30 young men and women participated in the Boredom Relief Program held in Epo's backyard.

The participants of Keladi Bete enthusiastically participated in the three-hour activities. They were able to utilize their time positively by joining the Keladi Bete program and enhancing their creative skills in the arts.

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Rap teacher, Epo D'Fenomeno, asked one of the participants to create rap song lyrics during the Open Learning Education Class activity at Rum Fararur Space in Jayapura, Papua on Sunday (14/5/2023).

Patiently, Epo teaches the history of music originating from the African continent and settlements of African-descent communities living in the United States. He also teaches the technique of creating rap lyrics using English materials to compose poetry with rhyme and figurative language.

In that place they not only teach Jayapura's younger generation about rap and graffiti. Keladi Bete as a place to provide free classes on all other hip-hop culture such as dance, beatbox and being a disk jockey (DJ).

At another meeting, Epo again carried out the Keladi Bete program with children and youth in his yard on July 18 2023 at around 15.00 WIT. Epo accompanied around 20 Keladi Bete students who carried out break dance activities and drew graffiti.

"Through the Keladi Bete Program, I aim to enhance the understanding of young generations in Jayapura regarding hip-hop art. I want this program to be a platform for creating new artists from Papua. Because art is a creative industry that is highly profitable when taken seriously," said Epo.

Self-taught learning

Epo's journey as a rap singer in Papua is now taking a winding and challenging path. Epo faces various rejections from both family and ridicule from friends who view an artist's future skeptically.

He first listened to rap music in the early 2000s. At that time, he began listening to rap music played by his uncle at home, such as songs by Eminem, an American rap singer.

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Epo D'Fenomeno plays the tifa instrument to accompany his children who dance breakdance during the Keladi Bete Program or Hiphop Open Learning Class in Jayapura City, Papua, July 18 2023. Epo is one of the rap singers in Papua who started his career since 2008.

He feels that there is an element of freedom in expressing opinions through rap music. This was motivated by Epo's introverted attitude when he had to go through the separation of his parents when he was still in elementary school.

Epo became interested in and intensely listened to rap songs played on the radio and mini compo. From 2005 to 2006, Epo began self-taught in composing rap song lyrics with references to several Indonesian rap songs, such as Saykoji and Fade to Black.

Epo's ability to master Indonesian language subjects supports his way of making song lyrics. Epo specifically writes his song lyrics in a book, but his father discarded it as he disapproves of Epo becoming a singer.

"I really like Indonesian language lessons and always achieve good academic grades from elementary school to high school. Thanks to that, I find it very easy to compose lyrics with rhymes and homophones or those with the same sound in every paragraph," said the eldest child of two siblings.

In pursuing his career as a singer, Epo is accompanied by his friend, Ortis Yarangga. Epo is responsible for writing lyrics and singing, while Ortis plays a role in preparing instruments and recording their music in an application called Fruity Loops.

KOMPAS/FABIO MARIA LOPES COSTA EMBARGO

The rap class instructor, Epo D'Fenomeno, explained the history of the birth of rap music and techniques for composing rap song lyrics to participants at Rum Fararur Space in Jayapura, Papua, on Sunday (14/5/2023).

In 2008, Epo and Ortis began writing many songs with various themes. Two of the songs were titled "Ku Ingin Memilikimu" and "Tangisan Anak Negeri". The second song was inspired by Epo's journey to a traditional market where he found a mother selling goods on the ground and news about poverty issues in Papua.

"The song 'Lagu Tangisan Anak Negeri' is a reflection of social issues in Papua that I want to convey through my rap work. For me, rap music is a large space for freedom of expression and opinion," said the 30-year-old man.

In 2010, people in Jayapura City began to hear songs by Epo and Ortis. This was thanks to their efforts to start spreading their creations through bluetooth and the help of a number of public transport drivers who rented boarding houses for Epo's relatives. Drivers routinely play Epo songs when transporting passengers.

They started actively producing songs at the end of 2010 under the guidance of two senior rap singers from Papua, namely Steven Mahuse and Ronly Fakdawer. Epo and his colleague, Ortis, used the stage name The Suff Crew given by Steven and Ronly.

Epo's struggle is starting to gain recognition from his neighbors and young people in the church community in his complex. They praise Epo's work and keep playing his songs. He becomes more confident with several invitations from the local church to perform on stage with rap songs of a spiritual genre.

In 2011, Epo was no longer accompanied by Ortis because his friend wanted to focus on studying and pursuing his dreams not as an artist. He then began to join a rap group in Jayapura, namely DXH Crew, which consists of seven people. This group actively writes songs with various themes and markets their works through the social media platform, YouTube.

Epo and his group have received positive responses from various parties. They have also been paid several times by the inviting party with a range of IDR 2 million to IDR 10 million for one performance on stage.

Apart from appearing on stage, the DHX Crew was also invited to sing and promote their work on television and radio in Jayapura. They also become the brand ambassador of certain products and often become judges in rap competition battle.

In his busy schedule, Epo also shared his knowledge by introducing rap music and hip hop culture to students in local subject lessons at two schools in Jayapura City in 2013. These two schools are State Senior High School 4 and State Vocational High School 1.

The activity carried out by Epo in the two schools lasted for about a year. It is from this activity that the birth of Epo's Keladi Bete program, which is now implemented in his yard, originated.

”In the activities at these two schools, I get a lot of young people who are not only talented at singing rap songs in Indonesian and local languages. They can also do dances to beatbox or imitate the sound of musical instruments," said the father of three children.

Level up

Epo chose to migrate to Java Island in 2014 to hone his skills as a rap musician. He traveled from Yogyakarta, Salatiga to his final destination in Semarang. Epo stayed in his friend's boarding house who also came from Jayapura.

ARSIP EPO D'FENOMENO

Rapper from Papua, Epo D'Fenomeno, shows one of his solo albums entitled Phenomenatal. This album contains songs about the atmosphere of Christmas in the areas of Papua.

During his travels, Epo participated in a rap singing competition with rap singer communities in areas such as Yogyakarta. He then joined the Semarang Music Community, abbreviated as Kumis.

For almost three years residing in Java, Epo has gained a lot of valuable knowledge to improve his abilities in the future, especially in music performance management. At the end of 2016, he returned to Jayapura.

One of the skills that Epo acquired from the Semarang Music Community is how to organize music performances on the streets. This became an inspiration for him to create the Jayapura Baribut Program in Jayapura City, Jayapura Regency, Keerom and Sarmi.

The Jayapura Baribut program was sponsored by a company producing goods in Papua that was interested in Epo's proposal. In this event, Epo and 20 of his students performed live rap singing shows in crowded areas and cafes.

In his career journey since 2017, Epo is no longer alone. He is accompanied by his beloved wife, Renny Tomasouw Urbinas. Renny, who at that time worked for a telecommunications company in Jayapura, fully supported Epo's efforts to achieve his dreams as a rap singer.

"Renny never complains when I get a small fee from performing. Instead, she uses her salary to buy clothes, accessories, and a computer for the studio to support my career as a singer," said Epo.

After working hard for a decade to pursue his dream, Epo's efforts finally paid off in 2018. He achieved third place in the Beef Rap Battle competition in Jakarta and earned a prize of Rp 30 million. Thanks to this achievement, Epo, who represented Papua, was given the opportunity to perform at the 17th anniversary celebration of a national media outlet in the same year.

ARSIP EPO D'FENOMENO

Rapper from Papua, Epo D'Fenomeno, performing at the closing ceremony of the XX National Sports Week in Jayapura, Papua, on October 16, 2021. PON XX is the first national sporting event held in eastern Indonesia.

He also obtained a three-year contract from the label company All Day Music in Jakarta. Epo also performed in collaboration with musician Alffy Rev and singer Nowela Mikhelia. In a work titled "The Spirit of Papua" created by Alffy in 2021, the work reached 10 million views on Youtube media.

Epo also became one of the performers by bringing his song titled "Jaycity" at the closing ceremony of the 20th National Sports Week in Jayapura on October 16, 2021. Now, Epo can earn a minimum income of IDR 10 million to IDR 15 million per month from concerts, conducting rap competitions, and providing his song on social media platforms such as YouTube and Spotify.

"Praise the Lord, my dream of earning income from this job has been achieved. I hope that this achievement will provide a new perspective for the younger generation that becoming an artist in Papua is one of the promising professions in the current creative industry," hoped Epo."

Biodata

Name: Onesias Chelvox Urbinas

Wife: Renny Tomasouw Urbinas

Profession: Rap Singer and Director of Rum Fararur Production

Performance:

Third place in the Beef Rap Battle Indonesia 2018 in Jakarta.

- Representative of Indonesia in the 2020 Abu TV Song Festival