To Celebrate 50 years of people-to-people ties between Bangladesh and the US, cultural diplomacy organisation American Voices and the US Embassy in Dhaka hosted a musical showcase at Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy (BSA) Thursday.

The event was organised to conclude a hip-hop workshop series led by award-winning American artists for Bangladeshi rappers, dancers, and producers.

From August 25 to September 1, the US Embassy hosted a delegation of four popular American hip-hop artists to lead a series of training for 54 rising Bangladeshi hip-hop stars.

The YES Academy workshops featured a "Dangerflow" band member and MC Angel "Ocean" Alvarado, award-winning hip-hop DJ Carl "DJ Invisible" Hollier, international b-boy champion Alex "BBoy El Nino" Diaz, and two-time finalist of NBC's "The SingOff," Richie "Robot" Steighner.

The Edward M Kennedy Center for Public Service and the Arts was the hosting venue of this eight-day intensive workshop, which concluded with a musical showcase, featuring enthralling performances of 54 talented Bangladeshi artists and four American instructors.

"The overall workshop has been a great experience for us. And as a new generation artist, I hope this type of event will foster the popularity of rap and hip-hop in Bangladesh," popular rapper Critical Mahmood told UNB.

"The YES Academy is a testament to the US government's commitment to promoting mutual understanding, creativity, and collaboration between cultural ambassadors in Bangladesh and the US," US Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas said.

Launched in 2007, the YES Academy serves as American Voices' flagship cultural diplomacy programme aimed at providing high-quality training in some of America's greatest cultural artistic genres, such as hip-hop and breakdance, for youth around the world.