Archive for Category: "Blog"
HHAM Blog Day 11: Nujabes
Deanna Nguyen, Worldfest Series Nujabes, a hip-hop producer and DJ from Japan, is widely known and respected for his hip-hop influenced instrumental tracks and remixes. His recording name originates from his Japanese name, Jun Seba, spelled in reverse order. Though not much is known about his past, he began his musical career in 1998 at [...]
HHAM Blog Day 10: The Rise of Female MC’s
Kenn Dela Cruz, WorldFest Series To quote the first line from one of James Brown’s most famous songs, he sings, “This is a man’s world.” This short, yet concise line holds so much truth because when you look at the history a woman holds, women have dealt with handfuls of adversity and deprivation of rights [...]
HHAM Blog Day 9: Merging Cultures
Sameen Naqvi, WorldFest Series Hip-hop has become an major intersect at which people from various backgrounds can come together to share and appreciate each other’s struggles. This type of collaboration is perfectly personified by the Denmark based hip-hop group Outlandish. The group consists of Isam Bachri, born in Denmark of Moroccan descent, Waqas Ali Qadri, [...]
HHAM Blog Day 8: Cultural and social contextualizations of American Hip Hop language
Arjun Saggu, WorldFest Series We find ourselves in the early 1970s, 1520 Sedgwick Avenue, the Bronx, New York City. The birthplace of Hip Hop. Through the four pillars of dancing, rapping, scratching, and graffitiing that maintain themselves at the heart of Hip Hop culture, I have discovered that language begins to qualify itself as more [...]
HHAM Blog Day 7: Ghanian Hip Hop-The Missing Link
Over winter break, I went on an adventure with UCLA’s Global Medical Brigade. We went to Ghana, Africa. Yes, Africa. None of us spoke Fante. None of us had ever been on a trip like this (first American GMB in Ghana, yee!). But we all shared a dire need to bust a move. The village [...]
HHAM Blog Day 6: An Icon of Revolution
Rujuta Gandhi, WorldFest series #Jan25 Egypt – Freeway, The Narcicyst, Omar Offendum, Ayah, Amir Sulaiman (Prod. by Sami Matar). It’s hard to miss the headlines about the Arab Spring. A year later, some uprisings have reformed governments while others have only been met with suppression. But how did the youth vocalize the need for change? [...]
HHAM Blog Day 5: Spoken Word
Spoken Word is a trending form of poetry originating from the Harlem Renaissance and blues music. Traditionally, it is performed in the first person and expresses social and personal commentary, experience, and critique. Artists encompass topics ranging from religion to politics to sex and gender and more commonly, more taboo subjects of the contemporary world. Similar [...]
HHAM Blog Day 4: K POP
Laura Dang, World Fest Series Yesterday was Super Bowl Day!! And even though everyone was focused on the football aspect of the big game day… we are still reminded of how essential music is in our lives. Madonna’s spectacular performance during the half time show serves as a [...]
HHAM Blog Day 3: Don Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012)
Don Cornelius (September 27, 1936 – February 1, 2012) by Kristina Garwacki, WorldFest Series At the beginning of Hip Hop Appreciation Month an important figure passed away who had started a movement that furthered the appreciation for both African Americans in Hip Hop and also the art of Hip Hop itself. His most [...]
HHAM Blog Day 2: Ibn Thabit
Benghazi – Ibn Thabit There are few artists whose work transcends entertainment value. Ibn Thabit can be included in this elite group for creating music that became politically significant. Although Ibn Thabit is largely unknown by the Western media, he’s almost universally known among the Libyan diaspora and has a big fan base in Libya [...]
