Girl power dances to its own groove at hip-hop summit
Megan H. Chan, Star Tribune
www.startribune.com/stori...37171.html
There was no bling. There was no rump-shaking. No one passed the Cristal.
The start of the female-empowered B-Girl Be hip-hop summit in south Minneapolis on Thursday night looked more like a United Colors of Benetton ad gone hip-hop than the stereotypical videos gracing cable TV.
More than 120 hip-hop enthusiasts, curious audience members and b-girls gathered at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Av. S., to celebrate the four-day event, considered to be the first of its kind in the Twin Cities. The multimedia affair encourages the positive portrayal and involvement of women in hip-hop through open mics, slam poetry sessions, lectures, video screenings, art exhibits and a fashion show.
"The event is smaller than other events I've been to, so it's a lot easier to get involved," said Andrew Coyle, 14, of Minneapolis.
Hip-hop fashion showKyndell HarknessStar TribuneThough B-Girl Be focuses on women in hip-hop, Coyle and other beat-boys showed their support.
So what is a b-girl?
Sometimes it's a compliment, sometimes a female rapper or poet, sometimes a reference to a demeaning female stereotype.
"Any reclaiming of the word and reshaping it for our purposes is empowering," said Shá Cage, B-Girl Be summit performer and co-founder of the Minnesota Spoken Word Association. "I think there is a constant pushing of the boundaries and redefining of what things mean, especially 'b-girl.' "
At the prospect of meeting other hip-hop-minded women, two St. Paul teenagers bubbled with an excitement that would make sugar blush.
Best friends Cassie McDuffie and Kelsey Van Ert, both 16, performed a slam poetry tribute to hip-hop Thursday night and said they're excited to have found other women who share their interests.
"Right now, it seems like the only female rappers that come out, they're rapping about their bodies and what they're going to do," Van Ert said.
Keynote speaker Gwendolyn Pough, associate professor of women's studies and writing at Syracuse University, echoed Van Ert's sentiments, encouraging the audience to use stereotypical negative moments in hip-hop and pop culture as "pedagogical moments where somebody needs to do something."
Seasoned performance artist Desdemona said she hopes young women can be inspired and older women who have been disenchanted with past subordinate roles can be brought back to the genre.
Desdemona, who serves as a curator and performer for B-Girl Be, said she finds irony in the fact that male artists often hype their records using women's bodies.
"Women are selling records, and it's not by using their voice; it's their image," Desdemona said. "And if it's going to be my image, then it's going to be my voice."
Aerosol artwork crew
Organizers were urged to bring the summit to San Francisco or New York, but Cage said it was important for the festival to be held in the Midwest, and in Minnesota.
"Until we have the chance to celebrate it here, we'll continue to be seen on the outskirts of the movement," she said. "The work we're doing here is incredible, and we're so passionate about the caliber of artists that are here."
In addition to performances, the summit will include a Friday night Hip-Hop Scholarship Panel in order to stimulate a serious and intellectual discussion.
"I hope there is an honest dialogue about the state of affairs in hip-hop," said Van Glover, a 34-year-old writer who came to scout out the scene for his son. "I mainly came to support the cause [and] to see the mindset of those who claim to support this art form."
Scholarship panelist, curator and performer Melisa Riviere said the all-female panels are meant to counter the image of the token female prevalent in past discussions.
"We're not an oddity or a novelty, so now let's move on. Let's go deeper and answer real questions about the movement," Riviere said. "Women are only represented as video ho's, and the discussion just stops there. What else is there to say? Where else are we going?"
Riviere also is directing the creation of what she said is the largest aerosol mural ever painted by women in the Midwest. Beginning today, the public will be invited to spray-paint a side of the Intermedia Arts building with the all-female crew from Los Angeles, New York City and Phoenix. Riviere said that she hopes it will provide a foundation for more women to feel comfortable discovering the art form.
In closing her lecture, a balance between street-wise pedagogy and traditional academic stylings, Pough said she hoped that the summit will continue to inspire more women to be engaged in and shape hip-hop culture.
"When people ask you, 'Shorty, who you rollin' with?' " Pough told the packed theater, "you can, with certainty, say, 'Progress and change.' "
Megan H. Chan is at mchan@startribune.com.
Megan H. Chan, Star Tribune
www.startribune.com/stori...37171.html
There was no bling. There was no rump-shaking. No one passed the Cristal.
The start of the female-empowered B-Girl Be hip-hop summit in south Minneapolis on Thursday night looked more like a United Colors of Benetton ad gone hip-hop than the stereotypical videos gracing cable TV.
More than 120 hip-hop enthusiasts, curious audience members and b-girls gathered at Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Av. S., to celebrate the four-day event, considered to be the first of its kind in the Twin Cities. The multimedia affair encourages the positive portrayal and involvement of women in hip-hop through open mics, slam poetry sessions, lectures, video screenings, art exhibits and a fashion show.
"The event is smaller than other events I've been to, so it's a lot easier to get involved," said Andrew Coyle, 14, of Minneapolis.
Hip-hop fashion showKyndell HarknessStar TribuneThough B-Girl Be focuses on women in hip-hop, Coyle and other beat-boys showed their support.
So what is a b-girl?
Sometimes it's a compliment, sometimes a female rapper or poet, sometimes a reference to a demeaning female stereotype.
"Any reclaiming of the word and reshaping it for our purposes is empowering," said Shá Cage, B-Girl Be summit performer and co-founder of the Minnesota Spoken Word Association. "I think there is a constant pushing of the boundaries and redefining of what things mean, especially 'b-girl.' "
At the prospect of meeting other hip-hop-minded women, two St. Paul teenagers bubbled with an excitement that would make sugar blush.
Best friends Cassie McDuffie and Kelsey Van Ert, both 16, performed a slam poetry tribute to hip-hop Thursday night and said they're excited to have found other women who share their interests.
"Right now, it seems like the only female rappers that come out, they're rapping about their bodies and what they're going to do," Van Ert said.
Keynote speaker Gwendolyn Pough, associate professor of women's studies and writing at Syracuse University, echoed Van Ert's sentiments, encouraging the audience to use stereotypical negative moments in hip-hop and pop culture as "pedagogical moments where somebody needs to do something."
Seasoned performance artist Desdemona said she hopes young women can be inspired and older women who have been disenchanted with past subordinate roles can be brought back to the genre.
Desdemona, who serves as a curator and performer for B-Girl Be, said she finds irony in the fact that male artists often hype their records using women's bodies.
"Women are selling records, and it's not by using their voice; it's their image," Desdemona said. "And if it's going to be my image, then it's going to be my voice."
Aerosol artwork crew
Organizers were urged to bring the summit to San Francisco or New York, but Cage said it was important for the festival to be held in the Midwest, and in Minnesota.
"Until we have the chance to celebrate it here, we'll continue to be seen on the outskirts of the movement," she said. "The work we're doing here is incredible, and we're so passionate about the caliber of artists that are here."
In addition to performances, the summit will include a Friday night Hip-Hop Scholarship Panel in order to stimulate a serious and intellectual discussion.
"I hope there is an honest dialogue about the state of affairs in hip-hop," said Van Glover, a 34-year-old writer who came to scout out the scene for his son. "I mainly came to support the cause [and] to see the mindset of those who claim to support this art form."
Scholarship panelist, curator and performer Melisa Riviere said the all-female panels are meant to counter the image of the token female prevalent in past discussions.
"We're not an oddity or a novelty, so now let's move on. Let's go deeper and answer real questions about the movement," Riviere said. "Women are only represented as video ho's, and the discussion just stops there. What else is there to say? Where else are we going?"
Riviere also is directing the creation of what she said is the largest aerosol mural ever painted by women in the Midwest. Beginning today, the public will be invited to spray-paint a side of the Intermedia Arts building with the all-female crew from Los Angeles, New York City and Phoenix. Riviere said that she hopes it will provide a foundation for more women to feel comfortable discovering the art form.
In closing her lecture, a balance between street-wise pedagogy and traditional academic stylings, Pough said she hoped that the summit will continue to inspire more women to be engaged in and shape hip-hop culture.
"When people ask you, 'Shorty, who you rollin' with?' " Pough told the packed theater, "you can, with certainty, say, 'Progress and change.' "
Megan H. Chan is at mchan@startribune.com.
