WASHINGTON- In celebration of the 50th anniversary of hip hop, Howard University will host the Hip Hop 50: Past, Present, and Future Conference on August 10 and 11.

The conference will feature plenary panels organized around relevant questions or issues that are being debated within Hip Hop culture today, including artist performances during the block party. The conference is sponsored by the Howard University College of Arts and Sciences and the Cathy Hughes School of Communication.

“A main goal of the conference is to introduce the hip hop minor to the Howard University Community, and it will signal Howard University’s expanded engagement with Hip Hop education”, said Msia Clark, PhD, associate professor of African Cultural and Feminist Studies in the Department of African Studies.

Over the two-day conference, concurrent panels and workshops will be led by scholars, activists, and artists.The workshops and hands-on activities include breakdance cyphers, rap cyphers, and an outdoor graffiti wall. Conference panels include: Women & Representation in Hip Hop, Hip Hop’s Cultural Impact, Hip Hop & Mental Health, Resilient Rhymes: Honoring Women in Hip Hop, Past, Present, and Future, AI vs. Hip Hop, Hip Hop & Social Justice, Hip Hop & Higher Education, Religion, Spirituality, and Hip Hop and more. Speakers and participants include Lenny S. and the Roc Nation Family, Reggie Peters (Universal Hip-Hop Museum), Lance Pope (ASCAP), Jasmine Young (Warner Music/Blavatnik Center), New York University film professor Bill Stephney, music producer Buckwild, and music artist and producer Raina Simone, a Howard alumna. 

The concurrent panels and workshops will be held in selected rooms in Douglass Memorial Hall located on the campus of Howard University, at 2419 Sixth St NW. 

The celebration includes a block party for conference goers and those who pre-register and will take place on the top of the Undergraduate Library on Thursday, August 10 from 6 pm – 8:30pm.

Performances by local and national artists including Elements Urban Arts Collective (Breakdancing), Jalon Perryman/Nolaj, They Don’t Miss, Boitshoko, Molefhi/TshokoBoi, Paige Chung, Darris Jackson/Flo Darese, EshodHoward/Eternal The MC, Aisi Aqueen,  Boi Scream, Dumi Right, and Raina Simone.  

Roger Caruth, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Strategic, Legal and Management Communication, said he wanted to reconnect the campus to community groups and activists working on Hip Hop. He said Howard has now established relationships with organizations like Words Beats & Life, Next Level, Universal Hip Hop Museum, Warner Music/Blavatnik Center, Microsoft, DNA/Carter Magazine, and Women in Music (WIM), to pursue new opportunities. 

For more information about events, please contact hiphop@howard.edu

Photo: Music artist and producer Raina Simone, a Howard alumna. 

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About Howard University 

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 14 schools and colleges. Students pursue more than 140 programs of study leading to undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced two Schwarzman Scholars, four Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 12 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African American PhD. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information on Howard University, visit www.howard.edu. 

Media contact: Sholnn Freeman; sholnn.freeman@howard.edu