Hip Hop Congress stands up for art

After a riot broke out following a hip-hop concert at The Evergreen State College on Feb. 14, the show's organizers didn't lay low. They mobilized — producing a video of the incident, making sure hip-hop didn't get blamed for the melee.

The organizers were part of the Evergreen chapter of the Hip Hop Congress, a global grass-roots group that counts more than 1,000 members. Along with presenting concerts, the nonprofit conducts educational workshops and acts as a support network for artists and teachers.

Hip Hop Congress is "a way to expose youth to positive elements ... to teach them a different side of hip-hop," said Amanda Cumbow, a Denny Middle School teacher, who is teaming up with the group to start a hip-hop club for students.

Evergreen's chapter was founded last May by sophomore Noah Theeman-Lindberg. The Valentine's Day show was its premier event, and the headliner, Dead Prez, a politically conscious rap duo, had been on students' wish list for years. For the concert, the Evergreen chapter teamed with the older Seattle chapter, bringing in artists from Seattle as openers.

One Seattle member, videographer Andrew Rutherford, went to the concert to film the performance, but when he heard about the riots outside, he rushed out to film what happened. The Hip Hop Congress then screened his film, "It's Bigger Than Hip Hop: The Truth Behind The Evergreen Uprising," for The Evergreen State student body Feb. 29.

Hip Hop Congress' national president and executive director Shamako Noble spoke at the event and said it helped spark a "very positive conversation with the administration, campus police and the artist community."

Asun Nicholas, a member of Alpha P, who opened for Dead Prez, was glad the congress came in with the film. Too often hip-hop is linked with violence, said the artist, and the media coverage that followed the riot was no exception.

Video posted on the Internet showed performers cursing the police from the stage — behavior that some, but not all, have interpreted as inciting the crowd.

News stories about the incident were "detrimental to Northwest hip-hop culture," said Nicholas, aka Suntonio Bandanaz. "For me, being one of the artists performing, to hear the usual tirade, that it's always hip-hop's fault, that every time you get brown people together, something happens, it wasn't the same light because of Hip Hop Congress." M1 of the Dead Prez did not want to comment on the riot itself. But he did say, "I definitely do support the Hip Hop Congress; they lead the way." He said the group was very organized, down to the details — making a point even of including vegan food for the MCs.

The congress takes its role seriously because hip-hop is not simply a form of entertainment, it's an art form and a community, said Northwest Regional director Julie Chang Schulman.

The concert marked the fourth hip-hop show on campus; the previous three went on without incident.

"We will only know after the next show and see the audience reaction," said The Evergreen State College director of student activities Tom Mercado. "I don't think hip-hop is taking the blame here. We're looking at the whole picture."

Moving forward, the Hip Hop Congress is putting together an album of local artists to fundraise for student activities on the Evergreen campus. This album will be available on its Web site (www.hiphopcongress.com) and at future concerts.

"The Hip Hop Congress and others involved did a lot of things right, but in light of the events after the show, it's clear that some things didn't work," said Todd Sprague, Executive Director of Marketing, Communications and College Relations at Evergreen. "As a college we intend to pay for the damage incurred, so if money raised by the Hip Hop Congress can help us do that, then that's a positive step."

Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com