Hip-hop empowerment summit creates a forum for new voices.

By Allen Bush
Berklee.edu Correspondent
April 30, 2007

	Rezun, one half of the duo Souldado & Rezun, raps at the freestyle session, backed by Berklee student Larry Williams on drums.
	Photo by Allen Bush

Participants in Berklee's second hip-hop empowerment summit addressed a number of topics, but the real message may have come from the audience: just because radio and TV are selling music and images doesn't mean that everyone is buying the product—or the ideal. At least for the afternoon they weren't, as 100 people gathered at Hibernian Hall in Roxbury on March 31 for a dialogue on stereotypes and music-industry mythmaking, and to share songs on CD and on stage, some of which were played in public for the first time.

Produced with partners ACT Roxbury and Critical Breakdown, the summit sought to empower young, underground hip-hop artists to become stronger writers and performers, and challenge them to think about their responsibilities as musicians in the community. In the demo derby, a panel of professors who have all worked in the music industry, a cultural reporter, and two producers listened and then gave their feedback on songs recorded by local songwriters and performers who were eager to glean all that they could from the assembled wealth of experience. Topics ranged from sampling and record deals to hooks and radio play. Later, some of these performers took a turn with the wireless mic to freestyle for three minutes with a Berklee backing band led by student M-Dot.

Teens dominated the room where a spoken word workshop was held. They wrote and shared a wide range of spontaneous, personal reflections and emotional declarations. Some of the writers took to the stage in the freestyle session, easily turning their new essays into raps. This was their display of empowerment.

The Demo Derby/Deconstructing Classic Hip-Hop panel discussion included (from left) STARCYDE Entertainment president June Archer, Music Business/Management Department assistant chair John Kellogg, and Music Production and Engineering Department associate professor Prince Charles Alexander. Photo by Allen Bush

Related Links

• For Hip-Hop Hopefuls, A Message of Empowerment (Boston Globe, April 1, 2007)