Hip Hop at Summer Youth Organizing Institute

I was pumped when the homegirl Anelise asked if I wanted to do a workshop on Hip Hop Organizing Seattle Young People Project's annual Summer Youth Organizing Institute. I'm all about that shit! It was great to connect with some dope young people, and hear their ideas for the uses of culture in creating change. Participants ranged from ages 12-18, from all backgrounds and perspectives. Some of the youth came with decisive concerns and/or background/intent in organizing and working on issues of injustice in their communities, some came with significant experience in Hip Hop as emcees, artist, and producers, and community members in their own right, and some were there because their parents signed them up for something to do during the summer, however all were bright individuals with valuable contributions.

We first talked a little about what Hip Hop is, I presented a quick framework on the various, overlapping uses of Hip Hop as toy, tool, or weapon, a concept I'm working on inspired by the opening plenary of one of the Hip Hop Leadership Conference's of the past. I then asked about what issues they were concerned about or things they've experienced and want to change. From there, we broke up into three rough groups to talk about ideas on how Hip Hop could be used to address issues in 1) Prison industrial complex, 2) Public Education, and 3) Misogyny and the deconstruction of gender binaries in our culture. Below is rough video on some ideas they came up with. Apologies for the audio, and me talking hella loud behind the camera in relation to the levels of the youth. My bad my bad. Next time will be much clearer. Hopefully. Enjoy!

Upcoming Show: Sista Hailstorm, Poesia, & Julie C

With his newest album Brown Is Beautiful fresh off the press Olmeca will be giving Seattle a good dose of East LA counter culture. Opening up for Olmeca are Seattle based hip hop artists, Sista Hailstorm, Julie C and more!

All Ages!
Sliding scale tickets:
Youth & Students $8-$15
Adults $15-$25
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Olmeca is an MC/ Producer / vocalist hailing Los Angeles, CA. His unique music production in both English and Spanish is a talent that is increasingly hard to find, but that he has mastered brilliantly. In doing so he has gained the respect of his peers; from underground artists and fans to well-known names in the industry.

With his edgy sound and proclamation, Olmeca has become a national act, having toured the U.S. He is now gaining audiences in Mexico & Canada.

Hes has performed with hip hops top name artist, Latin Alternative's most respected musicians and writing and performance opportunities in motion pictures and documentaries.

For More Info:

http://www.olmecaone.com/#!tour-dates/

https://www.facebook.com/olmeca1?fref=ts&ref=br_tf

Sista Hailstorm is an indigenous warrior who manifests her power and spirit through hip hop, art, activism and martial arts. She is an underground hip hop emcee and graff artist, as well as a hip hop educator, from the Northeast Los Angeles’ Lincoln Heights area. Her indigenous roots trace back to Chiricahua Apache, Yuma, Yaqui and Mexica blood from the Southern desert areas of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Mexico.

Sista Hailstorm https://www.facebook.com/SistaHailstorm
website: http://bgirlmedia.com/hailstorm

Julie C, also known as Julie Chang Schulman, is an explosive lyricist, educator, and Hip Hop community organizer. Emceeingsince her early teens, Julie C hails from the legendary Alpha Platoon crew of Seattle, a dynamic underground collective that has produced some of the most influential and stylistically advanced artists and groups in the Northwest

get her new album here at http://juliec.bandcamp.com/

Julie C. soundcloud, check out the flows https://soundcloud.com/julie-c

Doors open at 6pm


More info and tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/442893

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Facebook site for the show
https://www.facebook.com/events/582214728502064/

Kirkland Summerfest Photos

Time to get back to regular updates. Sometimes so much goes on, it's hard to keep up, but no excuses. Here's some things that went down this summer so far. I was invited to come represent with 206 Zulu at the Kirkland Summer Festival, and impressive event with 6 stages that took up the entire waterfront of downtown. Special thanks to Seattle Folklife for inviting us down. I was joined by King Khazm, Sista Hailstorm, Suntonio Bandanaz, & Zeta Barber. Here are some random action flicks. Enjoy!