Press Release:
Afghan Artists AK13 and Superiors Crew’s Urgent Call for Help The recent Taliban takeover of Afghanistan has forced more than 100,000 Afghans to flee the country. At this very moment, Taliban raids are being conducted daily, on the homes of activists, journalists and artists, targeted for their work in promoting self-determination, freedom of expression and human rights, and they are being subjected to imprisonment, torture and even death. While some Afghans have managed to evacuated the country, many vulnerable groups and individuals are in hiding, both in Afghanistan and neighboring countries. On August 18th, 2021, two Kabul Hip Hop dance and music youth groups, rappers AK13, and break dancers the Superiors Crew – both well-known to the Taliban – escaped Kabul and went into hiding. With limited resources, and while harboring additional family members, including women and girls, the Superiors Crew and AK13 (19 people in all) are facing a crisis situation they have never known before. Having performed for important, international institutions in Kabul, as well as having widely seen YouTube video postings, it is no surprise that the Superiors Crew and AK13 are in particular danger and we are working day and night with other concerned individuals, immigration lawyers and refugee organizations, to get our young friends to safety, as quickly as humanly possible.

• Today the Superiors Crew, AK13 and family members are hiding in neighboring countries, facing imminent risk of arrest, deportation to Afghanistan.

• AK13’s latest single, “I AM,” released during the October 17th, 2020 Inter-Afghan Peace Negotiations, is a protest song that takes a stand against the Taliban, ISIS and religious extremism and political oppression in general.

• The Superiors Crew breakers are widely known throughout Afghanistan, after many celebrated performances at western institutions such as the American University of Afghanistan, in Kabul.

• Sole, female member of the Superiors Crew, B-Girl Manizha Talash is training hard in hopes of representing Afghanistan, during the Paris 2024 Olympics where breakin will be recognized as an official Olympic sport.

• Early in 2021 a different extremist group, unrelated to either the Taliban or ISIS, attempted a direct attack on the Superiors Crew clubhouse, but was arrested by the U.S. trained Afghan security forces.

We are looking for help and support from journalists and the media, to help us inform influential individuals, organizations and the entire world, about the Superiors Crew and AK13’s existential crisis and emergency plight, and to get them all to safety! No Easy Props 501c3 Hip-Hop arts organization, led by Bgirl and community organizer Asia One, is helping to lead this effort.

Please donate to help support this project:

http://tiny.cc/saveafghanhiphoppers

For more information, please contact:

asia1nep@mac.com
310-402-4519

Press and Media Links
1. Below find 4 YouTube links that feature the Superiors Crew, performing in
Kabul, featuring young, female breaker, Manizha Talash, 18, who dreams of
competing in the 2024 Olympics for Afghanistan.

2. Below find the AK 13 YouTube video to their song, “I Am.”

3. Below find digital press about The Superiors Crew from The Diplomat, Swiss Info and Vice World News.
https://thediplomat.com/2021/06/breakdancing-in-kabul-a-coping-mechanism-forgenerations-growing-up-in-war/
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/reuters/afghanistan-s-first-female-breakdancer-sets-sightson-paris-olympics/46320988
https://www.vice.com/en/article/akgeya/afghan-rappers-us-troop-withdrawal

4. Links from journalists, posting on Facebook, addressing the Superiors Crew’s plight.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10157679594265916&id=620235915&sfnsn=mo
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10103823457184177&id=122609363&sfnsn=mo

5. Fund raising link:
http://tiny.cc/saveafghanhiphoppers