Check out all the panels you can be a part of at this years festival. We are bringing speakers, authors, and artists from all around the U.S. to be a resource to the DC community over the 4 days of our event! To take advantage, make sure you buy your all access pass (here)
Panels
From Mixtapes to Myspace: Building Your Movement
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
4-5 p.m.
Location: True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street, NW
Metro: U St/African-Amer. Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (Green Line)
As the power of institutional gatekeepers begins to crumble under its own weight, new stories and points of view are able to cut through the static thanks to technological advances. In many cases, technology allows us to circumvent more traditional means of being seen and heard. Web and new media based marketing have been used by millions of artists, companies and even political campaigns of late. From the Soulja Boy phenomenon to the Obama campaign, we have seen hits and misses with regards to efforts in using the Web to build viral “movements” for artists and entertainers of many kinds. This panel will cover the “dos and don’ts” of developing web and new media based campaigns for independent artists. Panelists will outline the tools that should be part of every independent hustle.
Panelists:
Tyrone Norris (One vs. Many/Food Chain Collective)
Seez Mics (Educated Consumers)
Buddah Bless (Across the Fader)
Ron Brown a.k.a. DJ RBI
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The Art of Storytelling for Aspiring Artists and Media Makers
Thursday, September 17, 2009
4-5 p.m.
Location: True Reformer Building, 1200 U Street, NW
Metro: U St/African-Amer. Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (Green Line)
Today, there are so many ways to tell stories, but how can we know that we’re presenting something other people truly want to hear or see? This panel is made of up some of the District’s most established and up-and-coming independent artists. Aspiring authors, filmmakers, media makers and performers, come learn how these storytellers found their own artistic voices and what motivates them to create art that moves people. In each case, these artists have nurtured both cult and mainstream followings.
Panelists:
Tewodross Melchishua (animator/filmmaker/artist/educator)
Jati Lindsay (photographer)
Charneice Fox (filmmaker)
Gabriel “Asheru” Benn (emcee/educator)
Jason Reynolds (writer/performer)
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Radio Retaliation: Intellectual Property and Hip-Hop Subversion
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
9-9:45 p.m.
Location: Busboys & Poets 2021 14th St., NW
Metro: U St/African-Amer. Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (Green Line)
A part of what makes the arts appealing to an audience is innovation. But, what happens when that innovation takes the form of remixing something that already exists? In the past, this was looked at as a kind of tribute to the originator of the artistic product (e.g., “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”). But, over time, remixing culture has run up against the challenge of commerce in the form of trademarks, copyrights and proprietary ownership. And yet, since its inception, hip-hop has always looked to its future while simultaneously referencing (giving a “head nod” to) the past of the communities from where it was born (jazz, rock, African roots, soul/funk, etc.) and the experiences of these communities/art forms. Today, there are many competing forces arguing for ownership over the past. This panel will address both the artistic history of hip-hop and who “owns” its future. Panelists will answer the questions: What happens when this sample-driven culture called hip-hop defies the laws of our society to create something either beautiful or ugly, but true to the stories of its creators? What’s hip-hop without the sample? How has bootlegging hurt and/or advanced hip-hop as a culture?
Panelists:
Dr. Jared A. Ball (professor/founder of Freemix Radio)
Nick Schonberger (scholar/curator)
Michelle Smith a.k.a. Noodles (On-air host,WPFW/Cookiewear)
Naji Mujahid (emcee)
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Women in Hip-Hop Beyond Misogyny
Saturday, September 19, 2009
2-3 p.m.
Location: The Lincoln Theatre, 1215 U Street, NW
Metro: U St/African-Amer. Civil War Memorial/Cardozo (Green Line)
Traditionally, hip-hop scholarship and commentary has focused on the misogynist and sexist nature of the cultural product. Debates ranging from the treatment of the video girl to Nelly’s “Tip Drill,” have characterized the way the community most effectively discusses sex. For the forthcoming issue of the bi-annual publication, Words. Beats. Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture, “Sex and Hip-Hop Beyond Misogyny,” WBL invited scholars, students and practitioners to submit papers related to nuanced takes on gender and sexuality within hip-hop.
This panel will bring together voices from our upcoming “Sex” issue (January 2010 release) and artists (MCs, b-girls, etc.) to answer questions like: What have been the contributions by and challenges for women in hip-hop? How does that reflect or resist social norms and expectations within the larger society? Is hip-hop competitive, cooperative, or both? How do those tensions act as challenges and opportunities for women and girls within the culture? Prior to the panel, we’ll be screening a film called “Say my Name” from 12-2 p.m. also at the Lincoln Theatre.
Panelists:
Hanifah Walidah (scholar/artist)
RatheMC (local emcee)
Toni Blackman (scholar/artist)
Maimouna Youssef (singer/songwriter)
Iona Rozeal Brown (scholar/artist)
Aysha Upchurch (hip-hop dancer)
Roxanne Shante (pioneer emcee)
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Rule 4081
Part of Words Beats & Life, Inc.’s 2009 Bootleg Festival: Mixtapes, Film and Hip-Hop’s Underground Economy, Rule 4081 is a three-hour intensive straight-no-chaser workshop designed to strengthen the Internet marketing skills of independent artists. This workshop not just addresses the multitude of online tools, but the attitude, creation and facilitation of a plan that will put them to work. Artists learn to better define and understand their audience in order to engage, grow and distribute their work to their fan base while also recognizing when to get out of their own way to success.
*Please register early! Space is limited for this workshop. Maximum capacity 50.
Tickets for this event can be purchased here: http://www.rule4081.eventbrite.com
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