{"id":25516,"date":"2016-01-28T09:24:15","date_gmt":"2016-01-28T15:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=25516"},"modified":"2016-01-28T09:24:15","modified_gmt":"2016-01-28T15:24:15","slug":"chicago-festival-celebrates-hip-hop-arts-positive-impact","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-festival-celebrates-hip-hop-arts-positive-impact\/","title":{"rendered":"Chicago festival celebrates hip-hop arts\u2019 positive impact"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Marisa Endicott<\/strong><\/p>\n

Some might claim that \u201chip-hop is dead,\u201d but the 7th Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip Hop Arts<\/a> this Saturday suggested otherwise.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you go to the spaces, if you go to the open mics, it is alive and well,\u201d said Damon Williams, a performer and activist emceeing for the event. \u201cHip-hop is a culture that is inherent in people\u2019s spirits.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nonprofit Young Chicago Authors<\/a> and public radio stations WBEZ and Vocalo<\/a> hosted the all-day showcase that took place at the Metro concert hall in Wrigleyville. The festivities culminated in a mixtape release concert featuring young up-and-coming spoken word poets, singers and rappers from Louder than a Bomb<\/a>, a Chicago youth poetry festival.
\n<\/p>\n

\"Audience
An event-goer steps into a cypher. (Marisa Endicott\/MEDILL REPORTS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Organizers focused on hip-hop\u2019s positive impact and inclusivity and raised awareness for several nonprofits and educational opportunities.<\/p>\n

\u201cChicago is, of course, one of the most segregated cities in the country,\u201d said Kevin Coval, artistic director for Young Chicago Authors and the founder of Louder than a Bomb. But \u201cthe hip-hop and the house scenes…were the spaces where I saw the city as an entirety,\u201d he said. These spaces \u201care reflective of the desire to bring together the city as a whole, and I think that that\u2019s a necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day kicked off with a screening of \u201cShake the Dust,\u201d a documentary produced by the legendary rapper Nas chronicling the influence of breakdancing in third world countries. On the main stage, Vocalo\u2019s Jesse Menendez and Jill Hopkins hosted a live broadcast of their \u201cMorning AMp\u201d talk show, interviewing event performers and organizers throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\"Vocalo
Vocalo’s “Morning AMp” hosts interview one of the night’s performers, rapper Ric Wilson. (Marisa Endicott\/MEDILL REPORTS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Downstairs, a barber gave fade haircuts to a steady line of customers, and local artists did face painting for the kids.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love seeing the children here. I think it\u2019s really important to have them see a culture of expression that\u2019s safe…especially right now in Chicago,\u201d said actor Monica Raymund, a first-time attendee. \u201cIt\u2019s a really great opportunity for hip-hop to be a part of the conversation of serving others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multi-generational hip-hop heads of all creeds and colors wandered the spaces. They broke into impromptu breakdancing circles, called cyphers, or browsed hip-hop and graffiti-inspired art at a pop-up gallery next door at the G-Man Tavern.<\/p>\n

\"Hip
Hip hop-inspired art is displayed at a pop-up art gallery in the G-Man Tavern. (Marisa Endicott\/MEDILL REPORTS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe grew up together, me and hip-hop,\u201d said Paul Branton, a featured painter born in the early 1970s. His parents were record collectors, and at a young age he was drawn to album cover art. Branton said the combination of visual and performing arts is natural within hip-hop. \u201cThey all influence each other. We can\u2019t really have one art form without the other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Social justice and grassroots advocacy was another overall unifying force on Saturday. Many, like Williams, see activism and hip-hop as inextricably linked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this movement that we\u2019re in exploded in the way that it did \u2013 this post-Ferguson moment \u2013 because it was birthed out of a hip-hop, street-ist aesthetic,\u201d Williams said. \u201cLiterally, the chants that we do on the streets have a hip hop energy and a hip hop rhythm.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 advice for young people who want to break into the hip-hop and performing scene is to find a supportive community. \u201cResistance, hip-hop, social identity, is all rooted in collectivism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"b-boy
Two of the contestants in a day-long b-boy and b-girl battle face off. (Marisa Endicott\/MEDILL REPORTS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The mixed crowd exuded those positive vibes, and the energy remained high as the daylong b-boy and b-girl dance battle\u00a0wound down to two final breakers and the evening\u2019s main event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that the radical imaginations of young people \u2013 of young creatives in this city \u2013 are changing the way Chicago gets down,\u201d Coval said. \u201cThey\u2019re traversing across every imaginable boundary that urban planners might want us to stay segregated in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo at top: The dance floor fills up as attendees breakdance between sets at the Winter Block Party.\u00a0(Marisa Endicott\/MEDILL)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Marisa Endicott Some might claim that \u201chip-hop is dead,\u201d but the 7th Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip Hop Arts this Saturday suggested otherwise. \u201cIf you go to the spaces, if you go to the open mics, it is alive and well,\u201d said Damon Williams, a performer and activist emceeing for the event. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":186,"featured_media":25532,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194,28,30,675,585],"tags":[357,71,892,888,891,894,890,886,897,887,889,893,625,896,895],"class_list":["post-25516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-general-interest","category-public-affairs","category-social-justice","category-winter-2016","tag-art","tag-community","tag-concert","tag-culture","tag-dance","tag-emcee","tag-family","tag-hip-hop","tag-metro","tag-music","tag-poetry","tag-rap","tag-social-justice","tag-vocalo","tag-wbez"],"yoast_head":"\nChicago festival celebrates hip-hop arts\u2019 positive impact - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/chicago-festival-celebrates-hip-hop-arts-positive-impact\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chicago festival celebrates hip-hop arts\u2019 positive impact - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Marisa Endicott Some might claim that \u201chip-hop is dead,\u201d but the 7th Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip Hop Arts this Saturday suggested otherwise. \u201cIf you go to the spaces, if you go to the open mics, it is alive and well,\u201d said Damon Williams, a performer and activist emceeing for the event. 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