Budding Welsh rap stars in Carmarthenshire will have the chance to show off their rhymes for a school hip hop competition launched to coincide with 2021’s Welsh Language Music Day – Dydd Miwsig Cymru.

Wales and the world will celebrate the sixth annual Welsh Language Music Day – Dydd Miwsig Cymru – on Friday, February 5, with a range of materials- from playlists to lyric explainers- set to be made available to help parents learn Welsh with their children through music.

Dydd Miwsig Cymru aims to inspire people who don’t speak the language to embrace the vibrant Welsh language music scene, and those that do to discover more of the amazing range of music made in Welsh.

Ysgol Hip Hop will be a fun, creative and rewarding way for parents to join in with their children’s journey with the language, helping to bridge the gap between school and home.

The competition asks primary school children to come up with a rap song as a class or smaller groups and practice in the classroom and at home, where non-Welsh speaking parents could benefit from learning the words too.

The theme of the competition and rap is ‘What the Welsh language means to you and your area’, which links to the Welsh Government’s policy ambitions to grow the Welsh language for future generations.

Dydd Miwsig Cymru has provided an online toolkit which will help pupils create their rap, including top tip videos from Welsh beat-boxer, rapper and producer Mr Phormula. The winning school will receive £250 to spend on educational resources and will have their rap played on S4C’s Stwnsh Sadwrn.

Each team will need to record a performance of their rap song on a smartphone and email it to Dydd Miwsig Cymru before Friday, January 29, 2021 to be included in the judging.

Schools should visit gov.wales/welsh-language-music-day/ysgol-hip-hop for details of where to send it and full T&Cs.

In February of this year, the fifth Welsh Language Music Day saw Carmarthenshire three-piece Adwaith take to the stage at the British Music Experience in the UNESCO City of Music Liverpool, while thousands of people of all ages experienced live Welsh music at events from Bangor to Budapest. The campaign reached over 90 million people.

Eluned Morgan, the Minister for Mental Health, Wellbeing and Welsh Language, said: “Welsh-medium education continues to grow, but using Welsh outside of the classroom is so important to the future of the language. Music is a powerful tool to inspire the love for a language. I’m also inspired by the number of parents who send their children to Welsh medium education, who don’t speak it themselves, but are keen to learn. This year we want to use Dydd Miwsig Cymru to bring parents closer to their child’s Welsh language world in a fun and accessible way.

“Music knows no boundaries and although next year’s Dydd Miwsig Cymru will look different to other years, we know the event will help people across Wales and internationally discover the many incredible artists performing in Welsh.”