Common and Kitwana will highlight the day’s events with their presentation at 2 p.m. in Gemmell Student Complex. A panel program will close the activities at 7 p.m. also in the Gemmell Student Complex. Kitwana, in addition to being the co-founder of the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention is the author of “The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture.” He is currently an artist-in-residence at the University of Chicago. Last summer he was called as an expert witness by the ACLU in the case of a junior high school student in Pennsylvania who was expelled for his rap lyrics. His expert testimony was referenced in the judge’s ruling, which allowed the student to return to school. The former editor of national top-selling music magazine ‘The Source,” Kitwana’s writings have appeared in the Village Voice, The New York Times, The Nation, Savoy and the Progressive. He has taught in the English departments at Texas Southern University and University of Houston Downtown. He’s also been an adjunct professor in the political science department at Kent State University, where he taught a course “The Politics of the Hip-Hop Generation.” Kitwana has been the editorial director of Third World Press, a consultant for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and for the last decade since the publication of his first book, “The Rap on Gangsta Rap,” has lectured on hip-hop and youth culture at colleges and universities across the country, including Harvard University, Columbia University, New York University, and Stanford University. His book, “Hip-Hop Generation,” has been adopted as a course book in over 100 college classrooms in a variety of disciplines from sociology, history and Black studies to anthropology, music, and political science. He holds masters degrees in English and education from the University of Rochester. “Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop: Wankstas, Wiggers, Wannabes and the New Reality of Race in America,” is his most recent book. Hip-Hop artist Common is recognized for his emphasis on family values and departure from the “gansta rap” material and negative posturing sometimes found in popular hip hop or rap lyrics and videos. Born Lonnie Rashid Lynn in 1973, he was raised in Chicago, Ill., becoming the first widely hailed MC to emerge from that area. Under the name Common Sense he signed with Relativity Records in 1991. He released “Can I Borrow A Dollar” in 1992 and “Resurrection” in 1994, the same year he was forced to abbreviate his name to Common due to a lawsuit by an Orange County-based reggae group called Common Sense. “Resurrection” commented on the stagnant state of hip-hop and rap with the single, “i used to love h.e.r.” It created discussion within the hip-hop/rap realm, drew attention to his talent, and prompted a lawsuit by rapper Ice Cube, who felt he was maligned in the song. The lawsuit did not end favorably for Common, and litigation slowed the production of “Resurrection.” Three years later he released “One Day It’ll All Make Sense,” which included a roster of rap and hip-hop’s most talented artists. One of the singles, “Retrospect For Life,” recorded by Common and Lauryn Hill of the Fugees, dealt with the topic of abortion. Common was in the forefront of an unprecedented wave of family values in the hip-hop community in 1998, the same year he was the headline act for the Elements of Hip-Hop tour. His contributions featured his own father, Lonnie, on a single titled “Pop’s Rap,” an apology from his father for not always being there; and a video of his single “Rap City ” on the BET network told the story of a young black man who decided to do the right thing by his pregnant girlfriend. Other noted rappers such as Snoop Dogg, LL Cool J, and Coolio turned to the joys of fatherhood and marriage in their material, and Common was among those ushering in a new lyrical and spiritual trend toward family values and adulthood. Kitwana and Common are also part of the 2008-09 Clarion University Martin Luther King Jr. Speaker Series. The hip-hop activities will begin on Oct. 16 with a Hip-Hop Arts Exhibit in Marwick-Boyd Fine Arts Building. The day-long events begin at 8:30 a.m. with a radio broadcast in the Gemmell Rotunda. book/CD signings and sales will also be held in the rotunda beginning at 11 a.m. Two tracks will be run, a general schedule and one for educators. Teachers registering for the educator’s workshop will receive three Act 48 hours. High school students will also be taken on a campus tours and will participate in discussion groups led by Clarion University students. Hip-hop artist Common, a 2008 Grammy Award winner and five time NAACP Image Award winner, and Bakari Kitwana, co-founder of the first ever National Hip-Hop Political Convention, are the keynote speakers for Third Annual Clarion University Hip-Hop Symposium on Thursday, Oct. 23. The program features speakers from around the world and an International Film Festival based around the theme “Hip-Hop Symposium 2008: Global Impact!”
A defendant had a hard time facing the music. Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin. Vactor, 24, lasted only about 15 minutes, a probation officer said. It wasn’t the music, Vactor said, he just needed to be at practice with the rest of the Urbana University basketball team. "I didn’t have the time to deal with that,” he said. "I just decided to pay the fine.” Champaign County Municipal Court Judge Susan Fornof-Lippencott says the idea was to force Vactor to listen to something he might not prefer, just as other people had no choice but to listen to his loud rap music. "I think a lot of people don’t like to be forced to listen to music,” she said. She’s also taped TV shows for defendants in other cases to watch on topics such as financial responsibility. As she sees it, they get the chance to have their fine reduced "and at the same time broaden their horizons.”
check the video here.
Source: Ughh.com
It's that time again for VH1 Honors. As always there's a new list of
Honorees, and I got the list for those who plan to watch or won't be
able to watch them this year. This years honorees are: Cypress Hill, Naughty By Nature, De La Soul (about time), Slick Rick & Too $hort. The performers this year will be: All the Honorees, Wyclef Jean, Kid Rock, Lil Jon, Big Boi, Ghostface Killah (I predict he'll do Slick Rick), MC Lyte, Bun B, Biz Markie, Q-Tip (you think he might do De La?) & Scarface. To end this news we will be graced with the presence of Tracy Morgan as the host.
Afrika Bambaataa and other pioneers of hip hop are scheduled to
travel to Ithaca, N.Y., to speak at a two-day conference celebrating
Cornell University Library’s acquisition of Born in the Bronx: The
Legacy and Evolution of Hip Hop, a collection that documents the early
days of hip hop with recordings, photographs, posters and more.
According to news sources, events on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 are
scheduled to include music, performances and lectures by several of hip
hop’s founders, and roundtable discussions led by prominent speakers
from the hip hop and academic communities. Cornell University Library
will host the event, which will highlight the one-of-akind historical
materials.
"By paying tribute to those who laid the foundation, we tell our own
history,” Bambaataa said. "Preserving hip hop’s early years will help
future generations understand the places they come from.”
Bambaataa is scheduled to address the symposium onOct. 31 as part of
a roundtable discussion featuring other hip hop pioneers such as
Grandmaster Caz, Grandwizzard Theodore, Popmaster Fable, Tony Tone,
Disco Wiz and Kool Lady Blue. Select artists will also perform in Alice
Statler Hall that evening.
Noted hip hop historians will speak at the event, including authors
Jeff Chang and Mark Anthony Neal, associate professor of black popular
culture at Duke University. Hip hop photographer Joe Conzo will present
his historic images of the Bronx during the conference. The event is
free and open to the public.
"We want the community at large to celebrate hip hop’s contributions
to American culture through a better understanding of its origins,
which are the focus of this unique collection,” said Katherine Reagan,
curator of Rare Books & Manuscripts at Cornell University Library.
Johan Kugelberg, a collector, curator and writer in the field of
popular culture, donated the materials to the Library. Kugelberg’s
book, "Born in the Bronx,” chronicles the evolution of hip hop in the
South Bronx, beginning in the early 1970s. The 2,000-piece collection
includes the archive of Bronx photographer Joe Conzo, vinyl records and
other recordings, handmade party and club fliers, and custompainted
textiles by artist Buddy Esquire.
Visit http://rmc.library.cornell. edu/hiphop for more information.