"We wanna live, we wanna dream because we are on the same team," were the lyrics Vernon's youth were chanting at a hip-hop spring break workshop.

The camp, hosted by The Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre has been held over the course of three days for kids aged 9 to 12, with the final day on Wednesday.

"This is a youth empowerment hip-hop program and we're teaching them the four elements of hip-hop, which are breakdancing, emceeing, graffiti art and DJing, " said Ndidi Cascade, emcee for her hip-hop crew, Metaphor. "I do the work that I do because I know that a lot of young people love hip-hop music but they may not understand where hip-hop comes from."

An extremely talented artist herself Cascade says she has always used hip-hop as a way to escape and feel relief from life challenges.

"What I like to teach them is that if you are feeling a certain way about something happening in your personal life or in your world a really amazing and healing way that is therapeutic is to express yourself by using lyrics," she said.

The three-day camp finishes with a hip-hop show performed by the kids.

Cascade hopes to be back in Vernon again next year to hold another youth hip-hop workshop.