Lately, I have been getting a lot of announcements regarding hip hop music and spoken word events in Birmingham. There are several cafes and night clubs that are hosting events. Malcolm's Reading Room is holding events. The Birmingham Museum of Art has even gotten into the game. So when one thinks of the Birmingham Hip Hop Scene, what comes to mind?
What is hip hop? So many people think of hip hop as rap music only. You betta ask somebody. If you ever attended the Hip Hop Summit at UA, you would know. Most people don't think of the poetry, the graffiti, the moves and the gear. Since I was living in Birmingham at the time that popular hip hop music hit the radio, it started with Sugar Hill Gang, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, and Kurtis Blow for me. My uncles liked to DJ so we listened to music all of the time. I also recall my cousin Ced performing "Rappers Delight" at all family fish fries and card games.
The Original Homeboy, Chris Coleman, 'Soul Night' DJ at Holiday Skating Rink on Valley Avenue, always had a spot for rap. He was always featured at the 'blue light in the basement' parties in the Thomas' basement in Fairfield too. Holla Fairfied, Ramsay and John Carroll! Since I had cousins on the East side, we also hit Skate Haven from time to time.
Eventually, Rap City and Yo MTV Raps made hip pop more visual. Hip hop is considered a New York creation. New York urban life portrayed through video was emulated all over the country and eventually the world. The dancers, the graffiti artists, the rappers and the DJ's were imported to us on a daily basis. Movies such as Beat Street, Krush Groove and more recent flicks such as Brown Sugar and Love Jones made additional imprints of hip hop.
The Hip Hop Diaspora, mostly rap music, exploded in other large urban centers such as Los Angeles, Oakland and Miami. Chicago, Atlanta, and even St. Louis would claim some well known rappers. Each region had a distinct sound. LA became known for Gangsta Rap. Oakland had an eclectic mix in my opinion ranging from MC Hammer to Digital Underground. The Miami scene was known for 2 Live Crew. You may recall their beef with Tipper Gore. The southern scene, known as the Dirty South, gave rise to a group of young rappers. T.I., Ludacris and even more mainstream R & B artists like Usher and TLC grew out of the southern Hip Hop scene. Missy Elliot and Pharrell were representin' the Tidewater area.
In the mid-nineties, as a result of a connection to the Seventh Sun, I recall going to spots such as the Cipher in Fairfield and the 22nd Street Jazz Club. Daagye Hendricks opened her family's doors at Harambee Room where many poets were introduced to a broad Birmingham base for the first time. I still remember a call and response poem, "Can I Kick It." Daagye also opened her doors and forced some of us to show up to hear Just a Few Cats featuring a local singer by the name of Ruben Studdard. Perhaps that will appear in another post.
So how would one characterize the Birmingham Hip Hop Scene? Stay tuned for local rappers, poets, DJ's, musicians, artists and fans to share their perspectives--past and present. In future posts, you will hear from Chris Coleman, Real Life Poets, DJ Supreme, Jona Crooner and more...
What characterizes the Birmingham Hip Hop Scene for you?
For more information on the history of rap, check out Kurtis Blow's History of Rap Music.
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In the words of the great poet, MC Hammer AKA The Hammer, "Let's get it started..." You must be holding one leg below the knee and moving it back and forth very quickly while hopping on the other. This must be done in extremely bagging pants.
ReplyDeleteThe Birmingham hip hop scene seemed to lack trendsetters. I noticed this when I was an artist (yes, I did and occasionally still do rap) on the B-ham scene in the mid to late '90s. I officially arrived in Birmingham via Butler County, AL via Detroit, MI in '96. Prior to that year I spent 4 years at the University of Montevallo. My first Birmingham hip hop experience was at a Luke (Campbell) show at Mama's and Sons where Legion of Doom was the opening act. Didn't get to see them perform because the members of the group got into an all out bar fight with a rival group. While at UM I met and bonded with Patrick "S-Fly" Johnson (his future wife also attended UM). At the time we were still trying to gauge what our place would be in the hip hop world. His group was still known as Southern Comfort and hadn't officially become Red Light District.
ReplyDeleteA full blogpost will follow shortly. - Bettina
I dont live in Bham, so I can't really define its hip hop scene....I am old enough to remember the Kurtis Blows, the KRS-One and Boogie Down Production, NWA, Tupac, Biggie Smalls. I LOVED their music. Not really into that T-Pain crap, so I listen to more artists that are neo soul, or anything original. Bettina, you must share when the spoken word is being done....Can you post it on your group. I have been out of the loop, cause some of the poets I rolled with, have left.
ReplyDeleteFrom Real Life Poets...We hold an open mic here in the city every 2nd & 4th Tuesdays at the Highnote Lounge. We have local and national known poets and emcees coming thru. The scene is still alive and growing. We would love to particpate in your project. www.reallifepoets.org
ReplyDeleteWow!! What defines the hip hop scene for Birmingham? Hmmm that's a good but complex question because the Hip Hop artists here in Birmingham have not defined themselves...Besides Patrick Johnson(S-Fly in Red Light District) NONE of the Hip Hop Artists stand out. They all sound like Atlanta to me, I am being truthful, I am not stepping on anyone toes and I'm not calling anyone out, but I am an OG in this game...one of the GODFATHERS of hip hop here in Birmingham so I can speak on it.
ReplyDeleteThe Hip Hop Scene is alive but not well....From time to time you can see glimpses of what could be if the Artists,Poets,and supporters of the Culture would come together and actually build it up,but I personally hold each contributor accountable for the upkeep and cultivation of Hip Hop in the raw form..I am a music lover so to point the demise of Hip Hop to the now trendy "Rap" scene of today in my opinion is a Cop-out...
ReplyDeleteBettina, I aways think of the group Southern Comfort (Rock's group)during UAB days and folks like Patrick Johnson and Al Elliot. They stood out because of the complexity and thought process behind their joints but they also had bump. There are a few other names like Benn Hated (Escalades and Navigators)and maybe Birmigham J that come to mind but I don't know how folks feel about those two artists. I think its hard to be distinct at first because most cultural innovation isn't wholly separate from the existing culture. To me this is why you will have a whole lot of people mimicking the ATL sound in Bham and then from that large group will emerge a few standouts that have been able to be distinct specifically as a way of escaping the rest of the imitators. I think there may emerge some true originality in the coming years if and when folks tire of that trite same ol same ol trendy stuff.
ReplyDeleteSo far it seems all Birmingham rap roads lead to S-Fly and incarnations of his groups, the Red Light District and Southern Comfort. The university scenes at UAB and Montevallo supported their music.
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to uncovering this mystery.
Ah...Hip Hop in Birmingham. For me, I won't go back to what it "was" i'll talk about what i think "it is". Alive! Before you can accurately talk about something I feel it important to define what it is you are talking about. What is "Birmingham Hip Hop"? For the purposes of this blog entry I'll define it as, "art inspired by life usually but not limited to artists from the less privileged population." There is a thriving hip hop scene in Birmingham now, but it's sometimes difficult to find "the scene" because of several factors. If you don't limit yourself to only the people/artists you already know of and you don't limit yourself to the venues you're willing to attend, you'll find many talented exciting artists.
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