Positivity - A Hip Hop Celebration September 4, 2009

Positivity - A Hip Hop Celebration

Producer - Connectbeats
Artists - Elvee, Viso, DJ Berk and N.E.B.

An event celebrating hip-hop and the positive elements of the genre, which are often overshadowed by negative hip-hop or rap. Connectbeats brings a level of conscious hip-hop to the stage; bringing awareness to the world of the everyday struggle of Americans in the streets. This struggle is heard and conveyed through the piece "hood," which explains and communicates the issues minorities deal with while struggling to survive on the streets daily. Furthermore, there is a message in several of the pieces performed most notably "Stupidity," which seeks to get the ear of the street corner drug dealer who refuses to think before he/she acts. In addition to the message, there is also an attempt to bring back performance to hip-hop. Performance was lost when the invention and progression of digital music and media players such as CD's, DATs and MP3 players replaced musicians. Consequently, hip-hop performances became boring; more about the glitter and gold and less and less about art. This happened when the rapper became the focus of hip hop and left the DJ and the band behind. We try to bring this element back; all the songs are performed via turntablist ( DJ acting as a musician) and live instruments creating the feel of the old school party jams. With the combination of all these elements we bring you POSITIVITY!

Official Website: http://www.buttonwood.org