The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival

The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival
Genre Hip hop
Dates Week in July
Location(s) Brooklyn, New York, United States
Years active 2005 - present
Founded by Brooklyn Bodega
Website
http://www.bkhiphopfestival.com

The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival (BHF) is an annual celebration of Hip-Hop music and culture. Historically, it has been organized by Brooklyn Bodega, which was founded in 2006 by Wes Jackson, Douglas Nettingham & Gregory Trani, as the online home of the BHF.

Overview

According to the official BHF website, "Our aim is to highlight Hip-Hop’s legacy as an agent of artistic progression, community building and social change." [1]

The festival is held during July at the Brooklyn Bridge Park, which is situated on the shores of the East River and is accessible by multiple subway and bus lines, the thruway and New York Water Taxi service.

Established in 2005, BHF has grown from a parking lot in Williamsburg to the largest hip hop event in New York City. The Festival's format centers around its Hip-Hop Performance Day and includes a variety of affiliated hip hop cultural events that occur in the days leading up to the festival. Besides its music programming, the festival also features a "Family Day" segment that has music, performances, demonstrations and seminars from a host of family centric organizations.

In 2012, the Festival continued its new format of programming with “Busta & Friends” and topped Festival history with a record-breaking 30,000+ in attendance (20,000 on its Performance Day). Busta Rhymes & Friends would feature classic hits performed with Spliff Star and a surprise line-up that included Buckshot of Black Moon, Smif –N-Wessun, Lil’ Fame of M.O.P., Slick Rick, Reek Da Villain. The icing on the cake was a Leaders Of The New School reunion with Charlie Brown and Dinco D which was 19 years in the making. The night ended with L.O.N.S performing “Scenario” and bringing Phife and Q-Tip (musician) out just as the cops killed the power.

According to Time Out, "(The BHF is) (d)ifferent from the bigger hip-hop packages like Rock the Bells that will be touring the U.S. all summer, this is a show that seems purely for New York, and it affords an opportunity for the artists to give back... Local businesses also showed their support, with booths ranging from Brooklyn Brewery to FLUD Watches and Hoodman Clothing." [2] In 2010, NY1 interviewed Hip-Hop artist Torae who said "It's just awesome, you know, for new, upcoming artists like myself to be out here and perform with legends and get to touch people from young to old, every race." Steele (rapper) of the hip-hop duo Smif-N-Wessun added "It's packed -- no violence -- so it dispels all the myths that hip-hop brings violence and stuff. It's beautiful out there, it's young kids out there, it's older people out there. It's people from all walks." [3]

The BHF is owned by Brooklyn Bodega, which uses the proceeds from the festival to support year-round cultural programming including but not limited to: the blogazine and online home BrooklynBodega.com, and most recently The Bodega Agency, our boutique marketing and branding operation.[4]

History

The Festival has been held yearly since 2005 when it was founded by Wes Jackson, entrepreneur and Executive Director of the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival and President of Brooklyn Bodega and Savannah Boogie Music & Song, Douglas Nettingham & Gregory Trani. Since 2006, it has been hosted by Ralph McDaniels who was responsible for creating Video Music Box, the first music video show focused exclusively to an urban market—broadcast on public television.

Below is a listing of past BHF performers:

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

"Q-Tip & Friends" special presentation:

Additional artists:

2012

"Busta Rhymes & Friends" special presentation:

Additional artists:

2013

Additional Artists:

2014

Additional Artists:

2015

Sure, the festival leaves its multi-day mark on Brooklyn every year, but let's keep it real, it's "The Big Show" that keeps 'em talking! For the 11th year in a row, BROOKLYN BODEGA has assembled some of the top names in Hip Hop history to render the boom bap in a homegrown atmosphere that has been largely lost on the major, corporate-run festivals that permeate the summer festival landscape. Join us down by the water at 50 Kent on Saturday, July 11, as we welcome the legendary rapper, actor, and philanthropist COMMON as our 2015 headliner! We'll also be celebrating 20 years of the "Infamous" Album from Queensbridge's Mobb Deep! The crowd will be plenty warm by the time the Chi-Town emcee takes the stage, preceded by energetic sets from FREEWAY, SKYZOO, CHARLES HAMILTON, LION BABE, and more! And, in true festival fashion, THERE WILL BE SURPRISES ON DECK!

According to Hip Hop DX, "To many fans the event is considered conscious Hip Hop’s form of Summer Jam or Rock The Bells and fills the void that the latter events have somewhat neglected, many feel. 'We do it every year because we really feel that Hip Hop needs it” said Executive Director, Wes Jackson to LiveSteez.com. “Unless you’re playing Summer Jam or Rock The Bells, there’s really no place that showcases your progressive artists or quality old-school or quality local guys and female artists.'” [5]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival.

References

  1. ↑ Brooklyn Bodega: About the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival Official Site, Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  2. ↑ Time Out New York: Video from the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival 2009 Official Site, Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  3. ↑ NY1: Annual Hip-Hop Festival Sends Good Vibes Through DUMBO Official Site, Retrieved January 19, 2011.
  4. ↑ Brooklyn Bodega: About the Bodega Official Site, Retrieved January 30, 2010.
  5. ↑ Hip Hop DX News: Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival Scores Big With Conscious Rap Official Site, Retrieved January 30, 2010.
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