Students led an event in honor of 50 years of hip-hop at San José State’s Mosaic Cross Cultural Center on Wednesday night.
The purpose of the event was for students to learn about the history of hip-hop, make some of their own beats, write poetry, draw up graffiti and enjoy delicious soul food according to Mosaic’s Instagram post.
The food at the event was from Jackie’s Place and it consisted of fried chicken, yams, mac and cheese and collard greens, according to the same source.
Mathematics junior Yabets Merid, who led the event, said he is of Ethiopian descent and loves hip-hop culture.
Merid said there were four different stations at the event for attendees to produce beats, create poetry, do graffiti art or listen to music.
“The music-listening station is more meditative,” Merid said. “I made four playlists: ‘80s, ‘90s, 2000s and 2010s hip-hop music,” Merid said. “You scan the QR code at the station and select what music you would like to listen to. I would love for some people to listen to some hip-hop classics.”
He said he wanted people to write four lines answering the question, “What do you want people to remember you by?” at the poetry station. He said the poetry station was intended to spark peoples’ creative thinking.
Merid said that a piece of graffiti art is one of the most beautiful art pieces he has ever seen, and it connects to culture.
He said the beat-making station meant the most to him because beat-making is a pillar of hip-hop.
Merid said the importance of the event was to urge people to understand the importance of hip-hop culture in society, and to teach people more than what they already know about the culture.
“If you know nothing about hip-hop, the event tonight teaches you the history of it. Then you literally get to participate in the culture by making beats and writing a few lyrics,” Merid said. “Maybe you didn't know there’s someone else in the room that’s a hip-hop fan and now you're here connecting and networking with other people who have similar interests.”
Merid said he has loved hip-hop since he was 10 years old. He said his earliest memory of hip-hop was when his dad turned on the radio and he heard “Not Afraid” by American rapper Eminem.
“This hip-hop shit has always been in me,” Merid said. “My love for hip-hop will forever run deep. I was memorizing Kanye’s lyrics before I knew my times-tables and no one ever forced me to. For me, it was just a passion thing.”
Music junior Blessing Theus said the event was energetic, fun and important since music has hit a milestone and turned 50 years old. Theus said the most beneficial station at the event was the beat-making station, because everyone wants to see how a song is made from scratch.
“A lot of the time you don't get to see how people get into the nitty-gritty of making songs,” Theus said. “Sometimes people might break down videos to show you how to make a song, but to see it here in person is the most beneficial. Seeing what plug-ins they use and seeing how the drum machines go into effect is a key piece in learning how to make top tier songs.”
Theus said getting thoughts or lyrics down on paper is very important when it comes to musical expression and documentation.
Radio television and film senior Max Martin said hip-hop is one of the only genres that he believes is revolutionary.
“If you look at the themes of the music, you look at the people making the music or you look at what's happening to the people making the music, hip-hop is the soul focus in society today," Martin said.
Martin said everyone has different artistic expressions. He said some people might be more musically inclined, meaning some people have good vocals for singing or good finger placement for a piano. Some people might be more artistically inclined, meaning they have good handwriting or they know how to use different fonts.
“I think it just depends on the person,” Martin said. ”For me, I like the graffiti station because it's fun to make that style of art. I think every station has its own value depending on the type of person you are.”
