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Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival from July 5-10
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Today is the beginning of the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival. Presented by Brooklyn Bodega and running until Saturday, the 10th, the festival is in sixth season, and they’ve got quite the line-up:
July 5: Show and Prove Superbowl (Brooklyn Bowl, 8 p.m.-1 a.m.)
Over the past three months, hundreds of up-and-comers have attempted to show the world that they deserve to be the next hip-hop star. Now, only five contestants are left—Kalae All Day, St. Joe Louis, Poetic Republic, The Crowd and Mikeflo—and they’ll be performing in front of the Bowl’s crowd tonight. The winners will perform on Saturday, Performance Day. $5
July 6: Bodega Education Initiative: The Legacy of J Dilla (Brooklyn Historical Society, 4-8 p.m.)
J Dilla worked with many of hip hop’s greatest performers, like De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Common. Without him and his producing ability, hip hop would sound totally different, and be the worse off for it. Sadly, in 2006 at the age of 32, the former-James Dewitt Yancey passed away from TTP, a rare blood disease. Today is all about giving J Dilla the respect he deserves with a documentary, roundtable discussions and conversation between Dilla’s mother, Maureen, and one of his best friends, Q-Tip. At 8 p.m., there will be an after-party to celebrate J Dilla’s life. $10
July 7: Classic Hip-Hop Film Night (Heaven Studio/Gallery, 7-11 p.m.)
No, they won’t be screening 50 Cent’s Get Rich or Die Tryin’; instead, the movie is 1992′s Juice, starring Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps, with cameos from Queen Latifah, Doctor Dre and Fab Five Freddy, among many others. Also at the studio is artwork by Raymond Chambers, NinjaSonik and Shiro, and following the screening, there will be after-party sets by DJ Sarasa, DJ Suga Ray, DJ Kalkutta, DJ Tomoko, DJ CJ Browne and Soundwave. $5
July 8: Salute The DJ (Music Hall of Williamsburg, 9 p.m.-1 a.m.)
Can you imagine hip-hop without DJs? It’d be like taking away the guitar from rock music. On Thursday, all the attention goes to the DJs and what they’ve done for music. The night will be two divided into two sections. The first will see solo sets by Bobbito, Spinna and Waajeed, and then they’ll face each other, spinning the best they’ve got in soul, hip-hop, jazz, house, and any other genre in their arsenal. The second will be a four turntable free-for-all with Rob Swift of the X-ecutioners and DJ Rhettmatic of the Beat Junkies. Both sections should prove enjoyable, with no references to “Hey, Mr. DJ (Keep Playin’ This Song).” $10
July 9: Family Day (Tobacco Warehouse, 12 p.m.)
Tomorrow is the main draw of the festival, the aforementioned Performance Day, so relax today and take your children to Family Day, a block party with games, entertainment, community groups, politicians and other parents and kids from the neighborhood. The day’s main message: Social Change and Individual Empowerment. $15, includes admission with Performance Day
July 10: Performance Day (Brooklyn Bridge Park and Tobacco Warehouse, 12 p.m.)
Here it is. Instead of listing the reasons you should attend, I’ll just list the artists performing, because if they don’t convince you to go, nothing will: De La Soul (whose 3 Feet High and Rising got me into hip hop), Smif N Wessun, Black Moon, Black Milk, Masta Ace, Skyzoo, Money Making Jam Boys, Curren$y, Fashawn, Rakka Iriscience, DJ Babu, J Dilla Ensemble, DJ Parler, Those Chosen, and Aquil, with your host, Uncle Ralph McDaniel. Whether you like old or new school, local or international, soul or funk, there’s someone performing for you. $15
July 10: BHF 2010 After Party (Southpaw, 9 p.m.-2 a.m.)
After the performers are finished, head over to Southpaw for more music from members of De La Soul and the legendary Jazzy Jay! Quite the ending to a great week of the finest hip-hop Brooklyn has to offer. $10
For more on the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, including artist profiles and ticket information, check out their website here.