Rhymes, rhythms
and resistance

by MORGAN STEIKER

Starting this evening, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. and running until Sunday night, the fifth annual International Symposium on Hip Hop Culture, organized by SAHC (Students for the Advancement of Hip Hop Culture), is bringing together students, professors, creators and adepts of hip hop to celebrate and take a deeper look at the culture in the form of presentations, panel discussions, screenings and concerts. There will be screenings of the films Still Bill and Beyond Beats and Rhymes, exciting workshops covering all four elements of the culture and presentations and panels featuring keynote speaker Stephen Leafloor (aka Buddah, Candian Floor Masters), as well as Nantali Indongo (aka I Am Black Girl), Marie-Nathalie Leblanc, Myriam Laabidi, Lynn Worrell, DJ Mana, Gabriella Djerrahian, Bronwen Low, Osei Alleyne (aka Manchilde), Stephen “Zip-Loks” Hennessy, the Narcycist, Jean-Bart from Omnikrom and members of Nomadic Massive among a ton of other guests that will take turns presenting and discussing throughout the weekend.

Yours truly will also be in the building for the Sunday afternoon panel on the changing face of hip hop, “Made in Quebec,” so make sure to come, participate, express yourself and exchange ideas with others. A majority of the events are happening at Concordia University, but don’t forget to check out montrealhiphopsymposium.com for the full schedule and locations.

In the midst of this always fruitful yet sometimes maddening culture, we are lucky to have a platform that allows us to take a step back and analyze our roles in and responsibilities to hip hop. I hope all you guys make it out because it’s important for us to show unity and strength in numbers. There’s a very strong resurgence of original hip hop ideals and aesthetics happening all around the world and I know that Montreal will be at the heart of it when it triumphantly returns to the forefront.

GO YOUR OWN CITY…
DABEATSEEKER@GMAIL.COM