Southern Futures Presents Two-Day Hip Hop South Festival In Chapel Hill
CHAPEL HILL – Last August, Carolina Performing Arts (CPA) on the University of North Carolina campus announced “Southern Futures,” an initiative that engages artists and community partners in racial equity, social justice, and the American South. Southern Futures seeks to change the conversation about the South from within.
“We believe people can speak for their own part of the world, and we want to give people a platform to tell their own stories… We accept that honesty about the past is necessary to create a bold, new, radically inclusive vision for who we are and who we can be,” write leaders with Southern Futures.
Southern Futures has announced a significant event in Chapel Hill on April 22-23, 2022.
The Hip Hop South Festival
This unique event in Carrboro and Chapel Hill venues will be co-curated by Harvard Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellows Christopher Massenburg (also known as Dasan Ahanu) and Dr. Regina Bradley. Dr. Regina N. Bradley is a writer and researcher of African American Life and Culture. She is an alumna Nasir Jones HipHop Fellow (Harvard University, Spring 2016), and is the Assistant Professor of English and African Diaspora Studies at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA. Dr. Bradley’s expertise and research interests include 20th and 21st Century African American Literature, hip-hop culture, race, and the contemporary U.S. South, and sound studies.
The Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellowship was created in 2013 by The Hip Hop Archives and WEB Du Bois Institute to fund scholars who either show productive scholarship or creative potential in the arts with a connection to hip hop.
Who is Nas?
Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones was born September 14, 1973. Rooted in the New York hip-hop scene, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time. To his fans, Nasir Jones is simply known as “Nas,” and the multi-platinum Def Jam Recordings artist is admired as one of hip-hop’s most celebrated lyricists.
Local Event Happenings
The festival kicks off Friday, April 22 with the main show at Cat’s Cradle, featuring North Carolina favorites Carolina Waves, Shirlette Ammons, and Rapsody — followed by Turn It Loose, Volume 3 — a late-night B-boy jam at CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio, hosted by the Raleigh Rockers, and featuring breakdancing demonstrations and competitions with dance crews from across the region.
The excitement continues Saturday, April 23 with the main show at Memorial Hall, featuring some of the South’s finest hip hop artists — Radio Rehab, Sa-Roc, and Big Boi — followed by a late-night beat battle at CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio, hosted by The Underground Collective, and featuring local luminaries 9th Wonder and the Soul Council, who will provide beat demonstrations and judging.
Festivalgoers will also enjoy a visual arts experience throughout the two days. “Dirty South Scribes,” an exhibit by Regina Bradley at CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio, honors the groundbreaking writers who spotlight Southern rap’s significance.
“Dirty South Scribes” Exhibit by Dr. Regina Bradley
Friday, April 22 – Saturday, April 23, 2022
10 am – 4 pm and 10 pm – 12 am
CURRENT ArtSpace + Studio
Open to the Public
See the full festival schedule, and purchase tickets, here: https://carolinaperformingarts.org/events/hip-hop-south-festival