Hip Hop 101:Concordia Hip Hop Summit

You need something to do this weekend, and I’m thinking you’re going to want to check out the Hip Hop Summit at Concordia this Saturday, the 7th. It’s Hip Hop 101 from the likes of MeAndYouCrew, The Crest, and Soulcrate Music.

Hip-hop is so much more than just rhyming words together. Hip-hop is more than what you see on the MTV. It’s not all about gangsters and their lady friends, money or the Mercedes Benz. Hippin’ and hoppin’ is a way of life for some, and this Saturday is an excellent opportunity to taste some of these funky flavors of life.

You’ll find your grandma very surprised when she realizes she didn’t know she could break dance, or so says Kipp G of our local MeAndYouCrew, who are slated to perform Saturday evening with The Crest, a Minneapolis based hip-hop group, et al. He’s excited for this weekend. Of years past, he mentioned that some of his favorite things weren’t even the performances.

There will be classes taking place all afternoon that cover DJ-ing (2:30 - 3:30 p.m.), break dancing (2:30 p.m.), and a “how-to” session for writing raps of your own (4 - 5 p.m.). There’s an open forum in the afternoon (1 - 2 p.m.), which is like a classroom setting where anybody with a curious side can get some answers about this hip-hop way of life or whatever you feel like talking about. Ask them anything. Grill these guys. If they don’t know the answer, they’ll make a good one up for you. Words are what they do. Most of the artists agreed this was their favorite part of the experience.

“So many different people came together to talk about [pause] something that [pause] I don’t even know. It was crazy. It was funny. Come experience this thing that words can’t even describe. People come and ask us questions like we’re experts or something, which we’re not. The interaction and the chemistry of it last year was so funny the whole place was rolling laughing the whole time. You can heckle, get heckled, or whatever. It’s like a stand-up comedy show.”

Remember that rapping is something everybody can do. You don’t need an instrument. You are the instrument. This is just humans hanging out and throwing ideas back and forth to each other. It’s not all about the stereotypical stuff that shows up on the TV. Come check it out.

“This isn’t just something I do when I want to make music. It’s always there. I’m always rapping in my head,” says Kipp.

Hip-hop is a socially active and organic breathing being that we can all be a part of. Come see how fresh life can be when you spice it up with a little-or-a-lot-a bit of music in it, especially when we’re all stuck in the winter coop and need that extra zest.

INFO BOX:

What: Hip Hop Summit
Where: All over Concordia
How much: FREE!
Who: ALL AGES!
When: Saturday Feb. 7th. Discussion Panel begins at 1. Classes go all day, and the music starts at 7PM.