Hip Hop Congress at UCLA is bringing more than music into the mix, celebrating the culture beyond the beats.
In the ’90s, the Hip Hop Congress was founded under the Afrikan Student Union. Now, HHC operates as one of the Cultural Affairs Commission’s nine organizations. This year, the organization is co-directed by third-year music industry student, Zara Lindiwe Liywalii and fourth-year sociology student, Audrey Ohwobete.
Through activities spanning music, fashion, art and education, the organization celebrates hip-hop’s roots while lending a platform to students and artists of color, said former Hip Hop Congress co-director and UCLA alumnus Mehetabel Frimpong.
“We focus on cultural edutainment – not only uplifting hip-hop in its historic context, but the newest in hip-hop as well.” Liywalii said. “That means making workshops on hip-hop and its related arts, platforming newer artists, even screening films.”
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Throughout the academic year, HHC brings its mission of ‘edutainment’ to life, Liywalii said. From workshops focused on music production during which students can learn from industry professionals to live performances featuring up-and-coming artists, HHC’s programming allows students with a range of interests to find a place within the organization, she added. Ohwobete said the majority of Hip Hop Congress’s events occur during February, when the club celebrates its Hip Hop Appreciation Month, which it began in 2004. The HHC hosts workshops, film panels and their annual fashion show throughout February.
Those events all lead up to HHC’s main event and annual concert, “Explosion,” which has featured artists such as Outkast, Luh Tyler and most recently, Molly Santana, Ohwobete said.
“The main idea is to celebrate Hip Hop Appreciation Month, while also presenting different things in culture that we’re seeing that we want people to pay attention to and learn about,” Ohwobete said.
The Congress’ annual fashion show brings a visual aspect of hip-hop culture to the forefront, Liywalii said. Featuring pieces from students and local designers, the show provides a platform for emerging creatives to showcase their work and the longstanding connection between fashion and hip-hop, she added. A musical artist also takes the stage alongside the models and designers, Ohwobete said, the most recent being Kalan.FrFr.
“Fashion exists right with music, and music exists right with visual art,” Liywalii said “The beauty of hip-hop is that it can be all three.”
Whether that be through the student designers featured in the fashion show, artists performing on stage or students learning the roots of the hip-hop genre, HHC provides opportunities of edutainment that allow students to experience hip-hop in ways that are not exclusive to listening to music, Frimpong said.
Hip Hop Congress also prides itself on the sense of community shared between members, Liywalii said. While hip-hop remains at the center of the organization, HHC connects members through more than a shared appreciation of the genre, cultivating a space where students can build relationships, Ohwobete said.
“Hip Hop Congress has been one of the most net-positive experiences,” Ohwobete said. “I found a family here.”
The sense of community Ohwobete found within Hip Hop Congress extends beyond the relationships formed between its members, Ohwobete said. Creating a dedicated space for marginalized students is another important function HHC serves, Frimpong said. HHC can provide Black students and other students of color with that place to find community and see their cultures and creative interests represented and celebrated, she added.
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While Hip Hop Congress welcomes students from all backgrounds and relationships to the genre, the organization also remains committed to honoring the communities from which hip-hop originated, Frimpong said. As the genre has evolved and grown beyond its origins, understanding the Black history behind the genre remains an important part of engaging with it, she added.
“In Hip Hop Congress, it is so important to let students know that this is a Black art form,” Frimpong said. “When you are coming to our space, treat it with respect and understand the people who created the sound.”
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