Looking Forward to Hip Hop Week MTL

Hip Hop Week MTL 2015

Hip Hop Week Mtl is a non-profit, community project dedicated to our love of Hip Hop, community and education. The festival runs from March 15th to the 21st in Montreal, Quebec. Click here for the HHWmtl events schedule.

1. "We are HIP HOP"

March 16th, 6:00pm, Leacock 132, McGill University

Kicking off this week of slick jams and dope grooves, "We are Hip Hop" will be the keynote address by Dr. Jeffrey Ogbar, focusing on the global rise, and ultimate historical, political, and cultural power of hip hop. If you aren’t a recent graduate of University of Connecticut and don’t know Dr. Ogbar, his areas of research include African American history of social protest and popular culture, plus the author of several prolific works in the field of Diversity Studies, like Black Power: Radical Politics and African American Identity. He’s become famous for his incredibly powerful, lucid lecturing on the state of Afro-Affairs, and I for one am absolutely excited to hear him speak. 

2. Literally Any Mention of MF Doom or Freddie Gibbs

The mark of a good hip hop conference, really the mark of any gathering of hip hop fans, is that these dudes get mentioned. For good reason, I mean, if you’ve ever listened to either of them, you’d know exactly what I’m talking about. Besides the quietly prolific, voluminous discography MF Doom has amassed over the years, and Freddie Gibbs the same, with the premiere of Gibbs' newest EP Pronto, coupled with that announcement of a couple Madlib/Gibbs shows coming up, there's no question that Hip Hop Week, all packed with that deluge of adoring fans and interested scholars alike, is gonna spark some hot debate.  

3. "Flava in Ya Ear" 

March 19th, 3:00pm, Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU), Room 203A (Madelaine Parent room)

I love beat boxing, as I'm sure every single other person in the world does. If you don't think you do, you clearly just haven't tried it, because, straight up, it's the best. It's also a super useful talent if you're looking to impress dates, especially if your dates are perspective battle rappers. "Flava in Ya Ear" is for all those interested in exploring further their own beat-making abilities, a workshop featuring producer Freddie Joachim, who, if you don't know, spits beats of hottest flame. 

4. The inevitable mention of Rap in a Post-Kanye World

There's no way at least one kid, probably dressed in leather skinny jeans and a red took with matching aviators, will undoubtedly toss out a question regarding "how rap has been changed by Kanye." Honestly, I'm really looking forward to the discussion. As the undisputed genius of mainstream rap, and the innovator of all innovators, I'm actually dying to discuss where people think he's headed. My current running theory: since "Only One" premiered, I've been of the mind that Kanye's next release will be his most fatherly, surrounding this new side of him - a father, a mentor, as opposed to his Yeezus bragadocio, or his College Dropout/My Beautiful Dark... characters of emotionally wounded tenderness. No matter your opinion of Kanye, however, it's undisputed that he's been the forerunner, the quintessential synthesizer of all popular rap trends since College Dropout, and there's no way one can pontificate on where rap is headed without mentioning the Great Yeez. 

5. "The Language" 

March 21st, 4:00pm, @SSMU Building, Room 203A (Madelaine Parent room)

Finna peeps this so hard, homie, I cannot even front. My love of slang aside, though, "The Language" is set to be one of the most thought-compelling and utterly enthralling workshops of Hip Hop Week. Run as an open discussion with Dr. Awad Ibrahim, a professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Ottawa, the discussion will focus on slang, the N-word (I just gagged, typing that), and the question of rap's accessibility. Besides the initial appeal of a venue to swap slang, which is honestly enough of a reason to get me out of the house, this panel stands to offer some sorely needed information in the lives of many a culturally stunted, or otherwise ignorant, Montrealer. 

-- Zach Goldberg is a DJ, loyal CJLO volunteer, and a regular contributor at The Link.