The exhibition Get Rich or Die Tryin’ highlights the universal power of hip-hop culture – whose Swiss roots lie in Renens. Renens played a central role in Swiss rap history. “Renens was one of the epicentres of rap in the 1980s and 1990s and shaped history, as Carlos Leal and the group Sens Unik came from here,” explains Chantal Bellon, director of the Ferme des Tilleuls cultural centre in Renens. Rapper and actor Carlos Leal was invited to design an entire exhibition floor tracing both his personal journey and the emergence of hip-hop culture in Renens. A journey back in time The room is designed like a teenager’s bedroom from the 1980s: music videos play on an old television, a desk holds Leal’s school notebooks, and the walls are covered with photos of friends, family and graffiti – as well as a fine for property damage, a reminder of his rebellious youth. Lausanne rappers "Sens Unik" are back: Leal has handwritten poetic lines on the wall, like rap lyrics. One reads: “In the ...
