Hip Hop fan with Janelle Monae backstage
To many who were once avid listeners and fervent lovers of Hip-Hop, it may seem like the music emerging from the genre of late has been full of rapper’s spitting the same punch-lines and boasting about “hood” scenarios that have been talked about time and time again.
Hip-Hop today is like a record that keeps skipping and repeating itself; it’s mediocre and at best lukewarm. Gone are the days of “hot sixteens” and rapper’s with a delivery so hypnotic and lyrically inspiring that you want to play their records over and over again until the CD starts skipping.
These days many emcees are lucky if their song even makes it 15 seconds without getting skipped. However, where there is darkness, there is always light and there are admittedly a few notable emcees who have survived the test of time, stayed true to their roots, and managed to continuously feed the craving Hip Hop fans incessantly demanding to be fed more and more good music. Those fans of Hip-Hop are comparable to Audry Junior, the human eating plant from “Little Shop of Horrors”, as they relentlessly scream, “feed me Seymour!”.
Daniel Samonas of "Entourage"
The Hip Hop 101 Festival, headlined by Common and Ludacris, last Saturday (February 21st, 2009) at the L.A. Sports Arena was supposed to be the answer to those screams. It was ideally designed to “educate” Hip Hop fans by presenting a special concert “course” that included performances by much respected lyricist, Common, ATL superstar Ludacris, former Beastie Boys DJ, Mix Master Mike, Keri Hilson, Janelle Monae, as well as live graffiti artists, visual arts installations, and a dance competition by Millennium Dance Complex. It seemed like Hip Hop Fans from all over the U.S. traveled to L.A. last weekend to see Hip-Hop embodied in all the scheduled performances. Columbus Short, The G-Girls, Daniel Samonas of “Entourage”, Etienne and Gerren of “Baldwin Hills”, Young Scrap, and Kel of “The Kenan and Kel Show” were all in attendance.
Kel and the G Girls
Hip Hop 101 was held in honor of Black History Month and was intended to convey the information and entertainment that transcended the music, giving fans a step by step tutorial on the origination of Hip-Hop and it’s accompanying culture. Unfortunately, the concert which was pumped up to be something much more than your average concert ended up being just that… average.
Although executive producer Ken Andrews probably had good intentions when he said, “Hip Hop 101 Music & Arts Festival is our way to acknowledge the achievements of every artist by creating a platform and embracing Hip Hop’s culture and unity through the expression of music, beats, graffiti, visual arts, performing arts and lyrics”, he probably didn’t factor in having one of his artists (Keri Hilson) be a no show. For excited fans of the Atlanta born singer, this put a serious hindrance on their exuberance for the show. Add that to the terrible sound quality of the venue and you’ve got one angry crowd.
However, when Common came on stage, it was like the entire atmosphere in the amphitheater changed. People stood up from their seats, they screamed, they clapped their hands, they went crazy! It was a truly monumental thing to see Common on stage doing what he does best, which is exciting the crowd and blessing them with real Hip-Hop. He even grabbed a girl from the audience and serenaded her as the audience rapped along.
Not to forget Janelle Monae, who wowed the audience with her performance and outstanding energy. She danced on the stage like she owned it and even transferred some of her energy into the crowd when she jumped down from the stage and marched into the audience, still belting out her tune. By the end of the night, no show Keri Hilson was forgotten and everyone truly seemed to enjoy themselves. In fact, many couldn’t stay in their seats and joyfully danced in the aisles while mouthing along to their favorite artists. Perhaps, these Hip Hop 101 students learned something after all.
