Although there will be a wealth of hip hop artists of all media, such as Sol Collective, Graffiti for Good and JustUs Dance to name a few, there will also be keynotes, panels, and workshops to help audiences to better understand youth and hip hop culture as a way of bridging the gaps that so often dominate intergenerational and cross-cultural divides. One such workshop, “Decolonizing Hip Hop” will be presented by Miss Marianna Sousaa, who says that her event about rethinking established norms relating to hip hop culture will be “interactive.”
“I’ll do us a good warm-up and a dive in to present some perspectives with our collective on how we are operating in extremes based off of some of the extreme polarization, which is a direct effect of colonizing, exploiting cultures and powerfully rich communities,” Sousa said in a text to SN&R. “Once we do that, we’re able to start shifting into self-awareness practices where we look at and observe ourselves as creatives.”
Sousa says that practice will lead participants to ask bigger questions while reflecting on their own prejudices around creativity, education and expression in an increasingly polarized society.
“Are we exploiting our art? Are we exploiting our pain? And how can we be socially responsible with the messages that we share?” she says.
Community-minded audiences will discover more about hip hop culture than they may have ever thought possible. Hip hop fans will have the opportunity to watch dozens of performers from across the country in the short three-day span.
Tickets for the 12th Annual Hip Hop Congress Conference are available at Eventbrite, and a $10 donation is suggested, but not required.
Learn more about Auburn Hip Hop Congress on Instagram @auburnhiphopcongress.