Emile YX? is a multiple award winning South African Hip Hop Elder, founder of the pioneering breakdancing crew Pop Glide Crew from 1982, Hip Hop group Black Noise formed in 1988 and Heal The Hood Project started in 1998. In 1993 he created South Africa’s 1st Hip Hop Magazine Da Juice. In 1997 he was part of the South African breakdance team that won 3rd place at the World Breakdance Champs, Battle Of The Year. He has since raised funds to send more than 250 young artists to international Hip Hop events. In 2010 Heal the Hood Project won the award for the Best Hip Hop Organization in the World. In 2016 he won the national  LeadSA Award ,  as well as the ETV South Heroes Award. In 2019 he was inducted into the South African Hip Hop Museums Hall of Fame. He has recorded and released 26 albums solo, with Black Noise in Mixed Mense. He featured on numerous compilation albums released throughout the world. Emile has written and contributed to 24 books, for which he won The Western Cape Arts & Culture Literary Award. His latest book is Reconnect the String. He created and performed 5 plays, one of them being the award winning play,  Afrikaaps. He created numerous events like African Battle Cry, African Hip Hop Indaba, Cape Flats Film Festival ,  Positive Posters Week ,  Up the Rock ,  Shut Up Just Dance , just to name a few. He is the first to create a Hip Hop Cultural Education based Arts Syllabus derived from experiential learning and teaching through his Practical Hip Hop School,  Mixed Mense. Emile has shared the stage with famous artists and personalities like President Nelson Mandela, Dr Alan Boesak, Brenda Fassie, The Queen of Sweden, Baba Maal, Salif Keita, Manu Dibangu, Snoop Doggy Dog, Kyle Shepherd, Arrested Development and numerous others. In 2020 he completed an International B-boy / Breaking Dance Teaching Certificate. Completed 4 new books in 2022, Hip Hop Cultural Education, We Live This co-written by Paulskeee, A Colouredful Life and Making A Black Noise Part 1 and contributed to a book titled The 5th Element. He also won the 2022 American Association for Applied Linguistics Distinguished Public Service Award.