Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1504915
WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM AUGUST 2 - 8, 2023 UCW 13 One of the most influential and popular genres of music is turning 50 years old this summer, and fans from all over the country are celebrating. Locally, fans can revisit the last 50 years of the hip-hop cultural phe- nomenon at the Art of Hip Hop Social event taking place at the Arts Council on Aug. 4. Organized by Route 87, LLC, the event will feature music from each decade of hip-hop, dancing, a DJ mixing performance and a vintage fashion runway. Guests are encouraged to wear hip-hop themed attire as the styles attributed to hip-hop popularity will be celebrated. Hip-hop and the genre of rap is one of the most influential types of music we've had in recent history. e way people talk, the clothes they wear, and the way they style their hair can all be traced back to some hip-hop roots. Route 87, LLC consists of a dynamic duo made up of local businesswomen Tracey Morrison and Courtney Banks- McLaughlin. eir business consists of event planning and bringing people together in the community. ey've held several events around town such as a fraternities and sororities meet- up, women empowerment events, and partnering with the George Floyd Memorial Foundation to give back to the community. Up & Coming Weekly spoke with the two about their love and respect for hip-hop culture, what they do as a collective, and their goal of bringing different fans of hip-hop together in celebration of the 50th Anniversary. "We want to create an area where people can 'live, work and play,' but take 'play' to another level," Morrison says. "A lot of people say 'there isn't much to do in Fayetteville' when they look for things to do and we want to continue to change that narrative. We took a leap of faith in doing this post pandemic. For us to do this and see how much we've grown together in throwing events means a lot." Hip-Hop was born in the South Bronx, New York, in the summer of 1973. It started with a DJ named DJ Kool Herc who threw parties with records and turntables. During the parties he provided a technique that isolated and repeated musical breaks, which laid a foundation for party go- ers to experiment with the sounds and start rhyming over the beats. is mu- sical movement followed on the heels of the civil rights movement, giving African Americans and people of color another way to fight against sys- tems of oppression. is genre shed a bright light on issues like poverty, gun and drug violence, and trauma, but in a poetic way for the world to digest and understand. is underground phenomenon around the Bronx spread quickly to house parties all throughout New York. People started using boom- boxes and bringing them everywhere. People continued to rhyme and rap over these beats, and eventually would start getting recorded on cas- sette tapes. Hip-hop wasn't on the radio or being sold in stores at the beginning, so the only way to hear it was being outside in the streets or be- ing lucky enough to get your hands on a cassette tape. Some notable artists in the 70's were groups like e Sugarhill Gang, Grandmaster Flash & e Furious Five, and the Ghetto Brothers. e Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight" was the first rap single to make it into the top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100, reaching 36 in early 1980. It is credited with introducing rap music and hip- hop culture to a wider audience. When speaking with Morrison, she says. "Hip-hop to me is Black art. It's Black culture and it's given African Americans a way to express our- selves through music. It's represented through graffiti, fashion, breakdanc- ing and many other things." Hip-hop became a voice and pas- sion for the youth in the country, and that still holds true today. It allowed young artists and poets to express themselves and communicate what they were experiencing in their com- munities on a much broader scale. e music gave rise to many other forms of artistic expression. ings like graffiti, break dancing, movies and fashion brands gained popular- ity quickly. rough these different mediums, artists have been able to create ways for people to enjoy hip- hop culture. As hip-hop grew, the more person- alities it took on. It evolved over the years into sub-genres throughout dif- ferent regions of the United States and now all over the world. By the late 80s there were groups like Naughty By Nature, N.W.A, Public Enemy, Salt-N-Pepa, and many other groups and individuals taking over music. Hip-hop spread to a lot of cities, most notably Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and New York City, but also down south in places like Atlanta, New Orleans, and Houston … all the way to Miami and Memphis. Banks-McLaughlin, who grew up in Detroit and moved to Arkansas for college, said she experienced hip-hop slightly differently. "Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, we listened to rap, but we also liked house music. It was more fast-pace and more dancing, but when I went to Arkansas, I was in college. It was a lot of chopped and screwed, Texas-in- fluenced music. Artists like Paul Wall, DJ Screw, and a bunch of new down south artists." In addition to being a driving force of Route 87, LLC, Banks-McLaughlin is also a Fayetteville City Council member representing District 8. e 90s introduced the music world to artists who are now known not only for their musical abilities, but also for their influence across the entertain- ment industry. Names like Snoop Dogg, Jay-Z, Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliot redefined the boundaries of the genre. e 2000s brought Kanye West, Nelly, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Cardi B into the spotlight. North Carolina has its own hip-hop scene, and the city of Fayetteville is home to a number of well-known hip- hop artists. e more notable names include J.Cole, Morray, Rain 910, and Bill Curtis and the Fatback Band. Up & Coming Weekly had a chance to talk with the artist who will be fea- tured as the DJ of the Art of Hip-Hop Social event, DJ Stizzy Baby. DJ Stizzy, also known as 'Stizzy e great, is a Fayetteville native, 80s baby who fell in love with hip-hop at an early age. Stizzy says, "I have seen Fayetteville hip-hop go from performers coming to one club on Saturday and Sunday nights, being in there until about three or four in the morning, just wanting a chance to perform, to artists from this city actu- ally being known on a national level." When asked about local hip-hop, he says, "I've seen it grow tremendously. I remember before the internet, when you really had to be on the scene, you really had to listen to the radio to know who's who and where people are going to be at. You couldn't be in the kitchen, pouring a soda, and scrolling through your news feed to see what's the latest. You had to put forth the effort to be involved, to know where to go to know what's going on." Hip-hop has changed and evolved much over the years. With that in mind Route 87, LLC and DJ Stizzy Baby are excited to be playing music from each decade of the 50 years from the 70's until now at the event. e Art of Hip-Hop Social event taking place at the Arts Council will be a time capsule for fans to enjoy every era and every region. If you're free on Aug. 4, join them in downtown Fayetteville from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $20 and you can buy them by visiting Eventbrite.com and searching 'e Art of Hip Hop Social.' COVER ISAIAH JONES, U&CW Graphic Designer. COMMENTS? editor@upand- comingweekly.com. 910-484-6200. 'Heeyyy ho, Heeyyy ho' Hip-hop turns 50 by ISAIAH JONES DJ Stizzy Baby will DJ the Art of Hip-Hop event Aug. 4 at the Arts Council, spinning music from each decade from the 1970s until now. (Photo by KM Visionz) Courtney Banks-McLaughlin (left) and Tracey Morrison of Route 87, LLC organized the event celebrating 50 years of hip-hop. (Photo by Isaiah Jones)