Those who think hip-hop is just a musical genre better sit down and get educated. Or better yet, attend one of the many events from Hip Hop as a Movement Week 2008: Element Fusion - A True Skool Evolution, which lasts from April 18 to April 25.
Hip Hop as a Movement Week began in 1999 and has recently been gaining popularity since the Multicultural Student Coalition took the movement under its wing two years ago.
Under the vision of MCSC executive member Katrina Flores, last year's Hip Hop as a Movement Week achieved monumental success. Over 2,000 people filled the Great Hall to see the week's biggest event, Breakin' the Law,"" an international break-dancing competition.
""I think that [hip-hop] is something that the campus has always yearned for,"" Jonathan ""Minhzy"" Truong, UW student and administrative staff of MCSC, said. ""Not just students of color but just all students of different backgrounds.""
This year, MCSC, in collaboration with other student organizations, is taking Hip Hop as a Movement Week to the next level, answering last year's call for more hip-hop on campus. The week will not only cover many facets of hip-hop, but also its fusion with other art forms, musical genres and academia.
""I think people see hip-hop as a tool for social change now, instead of something that's just in music,"" Truong said. ""So every year we try to emphasize the ... five elements of hip-hop."" Hip-hop consists of turn tabling, MCing, breaking (also known as B-Boying or B-Girling), graffiti and education. Individuals at the events express themselves through each form, advocatingawareness for social causes.
Each event showcases the different elements of hip-hop. One of the first events of the week is Femme Fresh, a two-day event uniting women representing four elements of hip-hop, beginning with a show Friday night and running through Saturday.
Saturday night is Hip Hop as a Movement Week's Kickoff Show featuring Little Brother, the Solillaquists of Sound and the Fall Guys,representing the MCing aspect of hip-hop at the Memorial Union Terrace. On top of that, the weekend is jam-packed with workshops, film screenings and discussion panels.
""Saturday is going to have a lot of different types of opportunities to learn about hip-hop culture and learn about the educational aspect,"" Flores said.
Many more activities continue throughout the week, including poetry slams, hip-hop theatre and of course, this year's ""Breakin' the Law.""
Also, Bronx native Lady Pink - the first documented female graffiti artist - will hold a graffiti workshop and make a mural on campus located between the new student center and Sellery Hall.
""It's going to be a multicultural mural,"" Truong said. ""It's kind of like the MCSC plan 2008 initiative, using hip-hop to increase diversity on campus, so [the mural] is kind of representative of that and what we want to do and why we're here.""
""I really just see that the conference is going to start to change the climate of the campus,"" Flores said.
Hip Hop as a Movement Week 2008 also invites students and community members to actively participate and experience the movement at an individual level.
""Not only can you have a good time and are entertained, you also learn and grow as a person,"" Truong said. ""It's an experience.""
