Growing Our Scene - The Future of KC Hip-Hop

***PLEASE NOTE: This is NOT a criticism geared towards anyone. If you interpret it to be such a thing, you either have not read the entirety of this post or you have been misled. If this were a criticism, I would be doing it to myself as well. In no way am I omniscient. I know there are numerous ideas. The purpose of this post is to express those ideas and find ways to bank on them in the spirit of community. If you disagree or agree please post***


You all know best, Kansas City Hip-Hop has come a long way. One can randomly cop an album whether that be on Dela, Atmosphere, Twista, Large Pro etc and can find a KC artist on it. That's remarkable. And to no extent are those KC artists being included the stretch of our success.
In the sense that we are expanding musically and are collaborating is certainly key - and we have that DOWN - in growing our scene but it is only half of the battle.

What we must continue to do, however, and with more force, is to involve more people into our art. I commend those who are doing just that but much more is needed. We cannot grow formidable in comparison to other cities if we continue the cycle of catering to an arbitrary group of a few hundred heads (who are mostly artists). Kansas City's metro has over 2,000,000 people. Why do KC Hip-Hop show's barely bring in single and double digits in terms of attendees? This must be addressed and acted upon.

I've created a survey written specifically towards getting insight on how to fill this missing link. Although there are thousands in the city limits of Kansas City who are unaware of our local scene, this survey is geared more toward suburban dwellers of the metro who are in the age range of 15-35. If you have access to communicating with people in this demographic please have them take this quick 10-question survey: http://bit.ly/KChip-hop

Three things that we MUST push for:

1. Either 18+ or All ages shows: Although some may have an aversion to the "kiddies" attending Hip-Hop shows, be it there apparent obliviousness, inability to buy alcohol, or giddiness, they ARE ABSOLUTELY VITAL in creating a scene/community. That same giddiness translates into other friends who hear about the scene and so on and so forth. We need that. The city of Kansas City does not appeal to the needs of families and the youth (sub-par school system mostly). Those kids are being averted to the outer-limits. THIS involvement can be an attraction to bring them back.

I know that clubs/bars don't like the "kiddies" either because they can't make much money off of them because they can't buy alcohol. It is imperative that we meet them half way by providing wrist bands, stamps etc to prevent minors from attempting to buy alcohol while at the same time making sure that those who can buy alcohol are in the house with as much or more a vengeance of minors. It's not the minor's fault that the venue wasn't packed.

2. More aggressive marketing: We need more street teams, more time and more dedication. The loyal few, bless their righteous heart, can't do it all - especially with limited funding. Perhaps with the help of those minors and/or dedicated people with turf knowledge can remedy this void.

We need to market OUTSIDE of the arbitrary bubbles of Westport and the HHKC community as well as continuing to do so in those bubbles also.. We need to hit the begrudged Power & Light District (I do see that progress has been made on this front recently) and put our attitudes aside. One of the best urban planners in America, Andres Duany, can attest to this. The draws of P&L, urbanity and walkability - the sense of community and human interaction - are what urban areas can provide best. Those folks are SEEKING culture. We need to capitalize and cater to them.

It shouldn't stop there. We need to market to the suburbs. Those residents claim to live in Kansas City for a reason. They want to be a part of the urban environment.

3. Retention:

An integral part of growing our scene is retaining those people. We can't just let them drift back to their previous life. Our art is life-CHANGING. We have to create an insatiable need. To do this we need to keep people looped. A lot of us actually do a terrific job of this by having ubiquitous presences on Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and at social events around the city. What must happen, however, is much more interaction between "fans" and "artists", more effective integration of HHKC.com and other KC culture sites with tangible things: T-Shirts, Fliers, Banners, Tattoo (ha!), you name it. This can be gradual. But it must be apparent. This will add to the loop factor that is much needed.

Now this may make some upset but it needs to be addressed. HiphopKC.com NEEDS to step into this millinium. If we are to attract new fresh blood and KEEP them we must maximize this resource and transform it into a web 2.0 site. As of now it looks like it's fresh out of Windows 95.

These issues can be greatly expounded upon. That's what's needed. We need a coalition to meet the demands of a growing scene. The plaza has a team that determines every slight move of it's growth and transformation from store front facades to retail mixture - all in the name of growth and preservation of it's uniqueness. We need a diverse team of Hip-Hop figures to do so as well. Please PLEASE PLEASE feel free to ping pong about this subject. Time is a wasting and the train is moving.



*** I'll post the results of the survey as they accumulate on here as well. Again, the link is: http://bit.ly/KChip-hop ****

I'm on a BOAT!

I can't even lie, this song is slightly fire.

Hip Hop Doctor Battles Heart Disease With Music

Via: http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.8612/title.hip-hop-doctor-battles-heart-disease-with-music

Physician Rani Whitfield has found a unique way of merging Hip Hop and medicine to bring about heart disease and obesity awareness to the African American community.

"I started to notice there was an affinity towards Hip Hop music," Whitfield, who splits his time between seeing patients and producing rap songs in the studio, said to CNN. "I was hoping maybe I could get involved in the culture and have some positive influence on it."

Positive influence is definitely needed in an era when heart disease is the number one killer of African Americans. According to the U.S. Department of Health, African American adults are 40% more likely to have high blood pressure than the average American. This puts them at higher risk for stroke, heart failure, and heart disease.

Although many of the reasons for these disparities involve factors such as genetics, socioeconomic standing, and access to affordable health care, environment actually plays a huge role in one's ability to avoid heart disease. In low-income neighborhoods, access to healthy food, quality health care, simple walking routes, or the gym tends to be limited.

This is why Dr. Whitfield, who is nowadays referred to as the "Hip Hop Doc," believes that traditional messages of heart disease prevention aren't working. In his most popular song, Walk the Walk, which is aimed at younger generation minorities, the doc teams up with New Orleans rapper Dee-1, rhyming:

"A stroke's no joke and heart disease comes with ease/ Hypertension smokin’ and diabetes/ So watch your cholesterol like you watchin' 106/ If you eat healthy there will be less for me to fix."

"It's not just African Americans I'm speaking to," he explained. "It's white, black, Hispanic, Asian; I'm speaking to many groups with the urban concept, the urban message." Whitfield hopes that in uniting Hip Hop and health education, he will be able to get across an important message, using language that minority youth will be willing to listen to.

"It's going to take young African American, Hispanic and Asian doctors to go out to talk to their communities to convince them," Whitfield ended.

What I'm listenin' to

This dude isn't too shabby. Peep this song with Yung Buck, who kills it as usual.

Punk of the Day: Alan Keyes

This idiotic distraught and downright unfortunate result of a sperm and egg pairing is the reason why the right is suffering. These absolutely radical views on Obama have yet to prove themselves effective for the case of their creators. It does seem effective in giving Obama momentum. So congrats Alan Keyes, you've lost in every race you've attempted to run in. Likewise you have lost your mind - if one ever existed, punk!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

What Song Made You Fall in Love with Hip-Hop?

A lot of people succumb to, when describing rap, saying the almost cliche "Hip-Hop is Dead." Although Nas' controversial album titled this commercialized and standardized this term there is no doubt that it existed before. Now a days, people are quick to chuck the term out there to oversimplify the state of Hip-Hop culture.

People don't realize however, that when they say, Hip-Hop is dead, they kill themselves. Especially so called rappers that further taint Hip-Hops dying perception. One thing they don't realize is that when you say that you're dying, you feel like you're doing. Ask those who deal with ageism. Sociologist call it the labeling theory but when you look in a certain direction when you're driving, it's hard to keep going straight.

This is where YOU come in. Hip-Hop lives in us. And we are VERY VERY alive. Welcome to the "Vital Signs" campaign - a campaign driven by those who live, breathe and eat Hip-Hop as a culture.

Do you want to prove that Hip-Hop is alive and kicking. Upload the song that made you fall in love with Hip-Hop using the widget below or by visiting drop.io/vitalsigns:

drop.io: simple private sharing

You're songs will be compiled and released on the "Vital Signs" album releasing in April. Hurry this historic opportunity ends soon.

thePhantom*-
http://ping.fm/1D5gt/vitalsigns

Thank you LAWD JESUS!

This dude is my new hero:

http://ping.fm/yQxq7?se=yahoorefer&feature=player_embedded