On the island of Chios, between sea, wind and borders, music has found a new space of freedom.
From 27 to 31 July 2024, young people from the island and refugees took part in the Rolling Rhymes workshops, a hip hop writing and creation course led by rapper Eisvoleas and beatmaker and producer Billa Qause as part of the European Soundroutes project.
For five days, words became tools for dialogue.
Participants learned how to write, improvise and construct a rap song: from choosing a theme (Finding my topic) to collectively creating word maps (Word Map) and playing with rhymes and rhythms (Playing with words and rhymes).
Despite the bureaucratic obstacles that imposed two separate workshops — one for the local community and one inside the refugee camp — the experience created real connections, transforming distance into exchange and diversity into strength.
The journey ended with the Rolling Rhymes concert, a jam session open to the public that enlivened the Michaleio Building of the University of the Aegean: a collective live performance where hip hop and traditional instruments intertwined, portraying Chios as an island of passages, voices and possibilities.
🎬 The Rolling Rhymes video recap captures those moments — the words written, the beats built together, the smiles, the looks and the magic of music that crosses walls.
You can watch it here