Category: Hip Hop Related Events

On a Journey to Save Nigeria

Fela Anikulapo Kuti: Visionary, artist, freedom fighter, human rights activist, and pioneer of the Afrobeat music genre. However, this blog post isn’t about the great icon but rather about the huge hole he has left in Nigerian music scene which has now finally reared a contender capable of filling that chasm. Enter “Falz” Folarin Falana: artist, actor, songwriter, and lawyer born to famous Nigerian lawyer-activist Femi Falana, who also at some point represented the maestro Fela. Falz recently dropped his fourth studio album Moral Instruction on January 15, 2019. Falz (also known as Falz The Bahd Guy) has established himself in recent years as a creative force to be reckoned with and has dropped several mixtapes and four albums since his debut album in 2014.

Falz is one of the few in a Nigerian music scene where the mainstream wave is focused on beats and catchy lyrics with no substance, a true deviation from the Afrobeats genre Fela started and popularized. Able to hold his own, Falz reminds many of Fela through his songs which are entertaining but addresses a myriad of social issues in Nigeria. In 2018, Falz dropped a cover of Childish Gambino viral song This is America but focusing on Nigeria which he called This is Nigeria. It currently has 16 million views as of the time of publication which is remarkable despite the radio ban on it in Nigeria. The song examines many of the harsh everyday realities Nigerians live in and have become accustomed to. These include government corruption, poor electricity, drug addiction, Boko Haram, herdsman attacks ,and low food production etc. The video begins with a speech from Femi Falana describing Nigeria as “operating on a predatory neocolonial capitalist system which is fueled upon on fraud and exploitation and thus will yield corruption”. Also notable was the fact that the video was released a few days before June 1 which is celebrated as Democracy Day in Nigeria and marked the 19th anniversary of democracy in Nigeria.

Falz has become the voice of the people in a nation where many are afraid to address these issues for fear of retaliation by the government; Fela himself was arrested, jailed and beaten by the police on several occasions. He has also shown that socially conscious music can sell and needs to be expressed more so conversations can be had about these issues for change to happen. Despite the radio ban because the NBC decided the lyrics “This is Nigeria, everybody be criminal” was too vulgar, the video gained international awareness after media mogul Diddy shared it on social media while the hashtag #ThisIsNigeria generated thousands of tweets.

Social Media: @falzthebahdguy (both IG/Twitter). Link to Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UW_xEqCWrm0

Trinity Hip Hop Festival

March 29-31, 2019 | Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut

For more information: Facebook.com/trinityhiphop 

The form can be downloaded from Dropbox

Presented in partnership with Trinity College, the City of Hartford, Nomadic Wax and Notable Productions. 

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS 

The Trinity International Hip-Hop Festival and Conference is seeking submissions for performers and presenters for their 14th annual event to be held at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut on March 29-31, 2019. This year’s theme is “Hip Hop: Transcend the Norm”. How can you be unique in a culture where anyone can record and video themselves and post it online? Fame can come quickly, but how does one transcend fame to build a career and deliver a message? How does hip hop allow you to transcend? 

Submissions focused on these topics are preferred, although anyone is able to apply with presentations/performances centered on social or political change, hip hop education, hip hop history or similar. 

Submissions will be accepted in the following categories: Performers (hip hop artists, MCs and/or DJs), presenters (lecture or workshop), panel discussions, film screenings, dance groups/judges (b-boy/b-girl and all styles), graffiti artists, spoken word artists, music producers, and hip hop photographers. 

About the Festival 

The festival was started by students as a way to unite disparate communities – academic, racial and economic – using hip hop culture in all of its forms and drawing from the international hip hop community. The festival has grown to become an annual meeting place for champions of social change: professors and students, artists and activists, educators and event promoters, and people from all manner of hip hop related grassroots and non-profit organizations descend on Hartford for several days of connecting, learning, sharing and inspiring each other. 

In the last thirteen years, we have hosted artists and presenters from over 50 countries. Although many of the people did not know each other coming in, as one first time attendee put it, “It felt like a family reunion!” A strong tie exists between attendees from shared beliefs in hip hop culture and social awareness. Everyone leaves feeling energized, inspired and more connected to fellow practitioners from around the world. 

Each festival also runs concurrently with a one-day youth conference, sponsored by the City of Hartford. Hartford-area teens meet in their own “youth only” events, and also sit in on some of the open panels and performances. Hip hop artists – who would perform later that night – teach groups of students about beatboxing, freestyling, a variety of dance forms and more. This youth outreach continues to grow and strengthen the college-community bond. 

PRESENTERS: 

Please submit up to 300-word proposal for a presentation of scholarly work, lecture, panel discussion, workshop, or a film screening at the festival. Please include the type of presentation you are proposing, any technical requirements plus name and contact information. Film proposals should include film length and a link to the trailer (if possible). Submit your proposal to trinityinternationalhiphop@gmail.com Due Wednesday November 21st, 2018. 

PERFORMERS: Please submit artist/group information, EPK, links to web site and live performance videos (if possible). We are only able to book 7-8 groups each year and seek to balance by countries of origin, languages and gender with a mix of live bands and MC/DJ combos. Artists who can also provide a presentation (see above) is a plus, but not required. 

Submit your proposal to trinityinternationalhiphop@gmail.com Due Wednesday November 21st, 2018. 

Notices indicating the acceptance of your submission will be sent by Friday December 21st, 2018 

 

HHAP Episode 26: Hip Hop Studies at Black Universities in the U.S.

This episode is an African Studies palaver on teaching hip hop related courses at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The discussion focused on approaching hip hop studies from African centered perspectives, as well the impact of those courses being taught at HBCUs on their structure and content.

Leading the discussion are hip hop professors/activists who are teaching hip hop related courses and participating in important dialogues within hip hop studies.

Greg Carr @AfricanaCarr‏ Howard University

Tewodross Melchishua Williams Bowie State University

Jared Ball @IMIXWHATILIKE  Morgan State University

Moderator: Msia Kibona Clark @kibona Howard University

The event was held at Howard University and was sponsored by the Department of African Studies and the Ralph Bunche International Affairs Center.

Music by Sa-Roc: http://sarocthemc.com | @sarocthemc | facebook.com/sarocthemc/

Continue reading “HHAP Episode 26: Hip Hop Studies at Black Universities in the U.S.”

HHAP Special Episode: Hip-Hop in Africa Book Talk

This is a special episode of the Hip Hop African Podcast. This episode is a conversation between Dr. Msia Kibona Clark, the author of Hip-Hop in Africa, and moderator Dr. James Pope. Dr. Pope is a professor at Winston Salem State University and an organizer with the Africa World Now Project. The conversation took place at the legendary Sankofa Video Book and Cafe in Washington, DC. The event was sponsored by the following organizations Africa World Now Project | Africans Rising for Justice, Peace, & Dignity | Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) | Sankofa Books
 
If you are listing to the podcast on a platform other than the blogsite, you can access some of the images from the evening’s event on our blogsite: hiphopafrican.com.

Continue reading “HHAP Special Episode: Hip-Hop in Africa Book Talk”

HHAP Episode 24: Free Speech, Censorship, and Protest in China and South Africa

This podcast is the panel discussion titled “Free Speech, Censorship and Protest”, that was held at the 13th annual Trinity International Hip Hop Festival at Trinity College, in Hartford, Connecticut. The discussion addressed issues of censorship and free speech in hip hop, in both China and South Africa. The artists discussed their own careers in hip hop, and hip hop culture in their countries.

The panel featured 

MC Puos, a Chinese artist based in Shanghai. He is a co-founder of Bang, China’s 1st hip hop magazine, and a founding member of the hip hop collective DDM. He also launched a startup education technology company to promote hip hop culture in China, and recently released a documentary on hip hop in China.
Dana Burton (@DetroitShowtyme), an American artist based in Shanghai. After leaving Detroit for China, he became involved in the hip hop scene in China and created Iron Mike, a national rap battle that takes place in China.
Emile YX (@EmileYX), a South African artist based in Cape Town. He is a member of the pioneering hip hop group Black Noise, and is the founder of the hip hop based community organization Heal the Hood.
The panel was moderated by Dr. Msia Kibona Clark (@kibona), from Howard University

Continue reading “HHAP Episode 24: Free Speech, Censorship, and Protest in China and South Africa”

Hip-Hop in Africa Book Talk

This Sunday, the 20th of May, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art will host a book talk for the new book Hip-Hop in Africa: Prophets of the City & Dustyfoot Philosophers

facebook.com/events/594670134237230/

13th Trinity International Hip Hop Festival: Graffiti Exhibition

Color: the property possessed by an object of producing different sensations on the eye as a result of the way the object reflects or emits light.

From my knowledge and experience, colors captivate not only the eye, but evoke specific emotional and psychological responses in human beings physically. For decades, the urban youth have utilized blends of hues to express sentiments, awareness and inner passions in the form of graffiti. On Saturday, April 7th at in front of Trinity College’s Mather Hall, I visited a beautiful graffiti exhibition which showcased gifted artists from all over the world as part of the 13th Trinity International Hip Hop Festival.

The installation included two large cubes which featured graffiti paintings on each of the four visible sides of each cube (eight paintings). Each piece showcased bright color combinations which told a story. For example, Marcelo Ment from Brazil did a piece which showed a woman with colorless parts of her face while her hair was made of a variety of bright and warm color combinations. Another side of the block showcased the turquoise, green and blue mixture of a girl’s French braids, with pink accents. The colors complimented each other and flowed like mystical water.  In addition, Artists Lindaluz Carrillo, Kamil Kucharek, and Poptart from Hartford, and Yuanjie K-Ching Qian from Montreal all composed their pieces within minutes, leaving their mark for all to marvel. Their work represented a culture of conscious art which I personally revere especially at a time in which Graffiti is going extinct due to gentrification. During the exhibition, another viewer mentioned that with less spaces left unoccupied by cameras, there are less opportunities for graffiti artists to tag areas with messages. The conversation led me to further appreciate the art, not only for its authenticity, and cultural impact, but also for its endangered state.

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Graffiti Exhibition at Trinity College

This year’s past Trinity International Hip Hop Festival also featured a live Graffiti Exhibition at the Gates Quad, an area in front of Mather Hall. The two-cube installation was created that Saturday morning with works by Marcelo Ment from Brazil, Hartford natives Lindaluz Carrillo, Poptart, and Kamil Kucharek, Yuanije K-Ching Qian from Montreal, Canada.

The first piece that I really liked was the freestyle graffiti piece by Brazilian artist Marcelo Ment. The intricate graffiti piece features a clever combination of lines and color to create depth and emphasis of the blend of both a bookcase and cityscape setting. The use of both warm and cool colors with blue, yellow, red, green and purple hues creates further contrast. There is movement in the center of the piece with a spiral shape connecting two silhouettes facing opposite of one another surrounded by terms such as “I am one because we are one”, “life”, and “respect”. “Trinity His Hop” is written in bold white letters in the bottom corner to pay homage to the festival. The graffiti piece highlights empowerment, unity and education through its’ bold lettering and style.

Another piece I really liked was the abstract Tetris-like piece which I believe is by Lindaluz Carrillo, an artist and graduate from the University of Hartford. The piece is a 3D abstract Tetris-like shape with landscape details inside the shape. The cool blue tones go the mountains and waves inside the shape contrast with the warm pink surrounding it. The use of black inside the shape also gives it an illusion of a face. I would consider this to be quite an urban piece as abstract shapes that both makes you think and strikes emotion are very common in graffiti art.

The graffiti exhibition was an effective visual art piece for the festival. The main piece “Trinity Hip Hop” in front of the first cube was a great backdrop for some Trinity Festival photos! The bold graffiti letters against a dark background creates contrast and attracts attention to the words on the piece. The graffiti overall surrounds us around urban themes, including empowerment, courage and unity.

 

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Graffiti By Marcelo Ment

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Me at the 2018 Trinity Hip Hop Festival!

13th Trinity International Hip Hop Festival: Panel Discussion: “Free Speech, Censorship and Protest”

Hip hop, music genre developed in the 1970s by inner-city African Americans from the Bronx, New York city, consists of conscious lyrics which often bluntly address social, political, or economic issues. The nature of hip hop is explicit, authentic, and genuine, and now after decades of diffusion and cultural spreading, the art form perseveres to survive even in areas where censorship and limitation of expression run deep. On April 6th 2018, during the Panel Discussion: “Free Speech, Censorship and Protest” at the 13th Trinity International Hip Hop Festival, Howard University’s Dr. Msia Kibona Clark moderated a group of hip hop artists from all over the world who discussed the condition of media censorship of hip hop in the realm of social change and political discourse.

Dana Burton, a hip hop pioneer and influencer in China asserts that the supposed ban on hip hop in China was simply “fake news.” Burton went on to explain the reaches of Chinese censorship, exemplifying the Chinese ban on the ‘Free Tibet movement.’ In summary, anything that violates national integrity remains off limits in China. For example, videos which include the Tibet flag are banned and individuals are forbidden from using the word ‘Tibet’ in public or media settings.

Another panelist, MC Puos is a hip hop journalist who cofounded china’s first hip hop magazine, Bang. He discussed his upbringing in Detroit and referenced his understanding of words, communication, and censorship, and the unspoken rule of limited self-expression as a youth. A person could lose their life by saying the wrong thing to the wrong person: a realization that showcased the strength of words.

Panelist Emile YX?, a journalist, author, playwright, b-boy, and member of Black Noise, (one of the first hip hop groups in South Africa) discussed the current censorship is South Africa. As a solution to the suppression of black voices in South African Media, YX? proposed that black people create their own markets and industries. His project, Heal the Hood focusses on dismantling the Eurocentric monopolization of the capitalist society by supporting our own businesses. Overall the event was an enlightening intellectual experience.

Trinity Hip Hop Festival 2018 Panel Discussion: “Free Speech, Censorship and Protest” Recap

The 13th annual Trinity International Hip Hop Festival was focused on censorship and activism when it comes to hip hop on a global scale. Aside from great performances and artwork from international acts, there were also discussions and panels catered to the overall theme of protest, free speech empowering the youth around the world. One panel in particular that was very engaging was the discussion on “Free Speech, Censorship and Protest” which featured MC Puos and Dana Burton from China and Emile YX from South Africa on the panel that moderated by Dr. Msia Clark herself. Continue reading “Trinity Hip Hop Festival 2018 Panel Discussion: “Free Speech, Censorship and Protest” Recap”