Hip Hop Congress breaks stereotypes
Hip hop probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of Concordia College, but that’s exactly where hip hop artists from across the country gathered this weekend.
Concordia hosted the first Hip Hop Congress Summit in Minnesota over the weekend. The event, themed “Politics, Globalization and the Hip Hop Generation,” featured concerts, workshops, panels and discussions related to hip-hop, race, politics, HIV/AIDS and globalization.
The goal of the conference was to erase the stereotypes that accompany hip-hop in today’s culture, Amer Ahmed, director of intercultural affairs at Concordia, said.
“ I think the stereotype the mainstream media sends is that hip-hop advocates drugs, sex, violence and misogyny toward women,” Ahmed said. “Our desire is to penetrate that stereotype by bringing knowledge of the history and the experience of hip-hop culture to people.”
The summit featured a diverse climate of artists from Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, North Dakota and Minnesota.
Quesse IMC was among the artists who performed at the summit.
Quesse, an Oklahoma American Indian from the Pawnee and Seminole tribes, said the goal of his music is to bring a sense of pride back to Native Americans.
“ I grew up in the hip-hop culture by listening to bands such as Public Enemy,” Quesse said. “I try to send a message to other young natives that we can make it too. I like to talk about Native empowerment and I try to break the stereotypes of our people.”
Other artists addressed more controversial topics, including the events of Sept. 11.
American Indian rap duo Night Shield and Maniac’s opening song took aim at the Bush administration.
Ahmed said although Hip Hop Congress has no political affiliation, it encourages youth to express their views and opinions.
“ Part of the power of hip-hop is that it is a venue for people to express views and put them in a public sphere,” Ahmed said. “We don’t have a political view, but we do create the arena for people to express their ideas. Here in the United States, people have the freedom to express those ideas. We are advocating for people to critically assess the world around them and then to put action behind their ideas.”
The summit also featured panels that discussed various issues associated with hip-hop.
Kit Mitchell, a senior at MSUM, was one of the many students who attended the summit’s panels.
“ My friend, who is involved with the Black Student Alliance at MSUM, told me about the event and brought me here tonight,” Mitchell said. “I attended a few of the panel discussions earlier in the day. I liked how they put a positive image with hip-hop and how I was able to see the good side of it.”
Ahmed first got involved with Hip Hop Congress when he attended graduate school at Indiana University. There he met Hip Hop Congress co-founder Ron Gubitz.
“ I met Ron, who encouraged me to perform at a Hip Hop Congress festival on campus,” Ahmed said. “I was intrigued by the event and I’ve been involved ever since.”
He recommends students find out more information about hip-hop and what the culture is truly about.
“ Hip-hop is a movement that is happening in which young people are empowering themselves in a very political and social conscious way,” Ahmed said.
Ahmed suggests people visit the Web site at www.hiphopcongress.com, and he also welcomes people to e-mail him for more information at amer@hiphopcongress.com.