“Awready!” The Houston Hip Hop Conference to be held March 27 – 28

Photo credit: Ben DeSoto

Academic conference explores impact of 4th largest U.S. city on Hip-hop culture Exhibitions and DJ battle honor the legacy of DJ Screw and showcases Houston artists

“Awready!” The Hip Hop Conference brings together Houston rap legends and academic scholars to explore the impact of the fourth-largest U.S. city on the musical and artistic culture known as hip hop.

“Awready!” spotlights the late DJ Screw, originator of the “chopped and screwed” genre, and how hip hop has progressed into different sounds and aesthetics due to regional influences. The conference is the result of collaboration between University of Houston Libraries, the Houston Enriches Rice Education (H.E.R.E.) Project at Rice University, the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts and the African American Studies Program.

It also serves as the public introduction of the Houston Hip Hop Archives Network, a partnership between the UH Libraries and the H.E.R.E. Project for preserving Houston hip hop artifacts.

In classic hip hop tradition, the conference kicks off on Tuesday, March 27 with the opening of the “Graffiti, B-Boy and B-Girl Exhibition,” a celebration of the visual art and dance styles signifying hip hop creativity, at Betz Gallery, 1208 W. Gray. The exhibition runs through April 21.

The opening reception from 6 – 9 p.m. on March 27 will feature an interactive performance by local graffiti artists and B-boys, and is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, March 28, scholars, rappers, DJs and others will come together to tell the story of DJ Screw and Houston hip hop through “A Screwed Up History” panel discussions and short presentations.

Guests include K-Rino, Willie D, ESG, Lil’ Keke, Z-Ro, Chingo Bling, Paul Wall and more. This event will take place at the University Center, Entrance 1 on the UH main campus, from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Seating is limited and advance registration is required.

The evening of March 28 closes the conference with “2012 College DJ Battle,” a showcase of the artistry of turntable mixing honoring DJ Screw. College students throughout the state of Texas will compete for the top DJ Award, with local hip-hop DJs serving as judges. This event takes place at Willy’s Pub at Rice University from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and will have a modest cover charge.

Before or after the other events, attendees are invited to view “DJ Screw and the Rise of Houston Hip-Hop.” This exhibition tells the story of DJ Screw and the Screwed Up Click through original artifacts, as well as documenting earlier pioneers and more recent artists who helped to shape Houston’s sound. It runs from March 19 – Sept. 21 at M.D. Anderson Library at UH and will be open to the public during library hours at no charge.

The full schedule and event details may be found at http://lws.lib.uh.edu/hiphop/. For more information, please contact awready2012@gmail.com.