Rapping grandma teaches her moves

BEANIES and bling are not a grand-mother “thing” but then neither is rap or hip hop – unless it’s a granny with fire in her belly who’s undergone a successful hip op.

Meet Marion Kelly aka DJ Hip Op, 55-year-old grandmother of two – her rapping has caught on in Dublin’s East Wall where she’s teaching some unusual moves.

Captured in a video posted on Youtube the silver rapper has a lesson for the young: growing up is optional, growing old is mandatory – but at any age it’s possible to have fun.

“WHAZUP?” she asks in her Youtube greeting before showing off her knuckle-dusting bling. Then we see her teach some dance moves at her weekly dance class in Talbot St where she encourages her peers to join in. “Mother Flippa” she roars, in her own version of rapper-speak, sanitised to suit her silver tongue. “Fo’ shizzle my nizzle” and “Yo Be-atch” she shouts, delivered with the enthusiasm of the young.

She recently got both hips replaced and finds dancing good for them.

DJ Hip Op’s talents were recruited lobby group for the elderly, Age Action, for the purpose of challenging the stereotype of older people, according to spokesman Eamon Timmins.

“Rapping is not a type of music commonly associated with older people, but the only thing you can tell about a person from their birth certificate is the year they were born.

“While this is fun, the impact of age discrimination can be devastating with people being forced out of jobs or being refused certain medical treatments because of their age,” Mr Timmins said.

He added that the use of YouTube marked a new departure in their work to combat age discrimination and improve policies and services for older people.

The idea for the video came from Jack Murray, managing director of Mediacontact.ie who is organising the “Content is King” social media conference in Dublin’s Guinness StoreHouse on November 17.

The creative concept for “Growing up is optional” came from playwright Mícheál Lovett, who also directed it. It was recorded and edited by Richard Doyle of Creative Productions. Everyone involved gave their services free of charge.

The video can be viewed at youtube.com/ watch?v=laCLBVmk1EU

It was launched on Thursday and had more than 1,800 hits by 8pm yesterday.