Hip-hop and the Charlottesville music scene - the two might not seem synonymous, but those behind today's Genesis 2:001 hip-hop battle, a competitive mix of music, dance and art, hope that their event will broaden the local music scope.
Last year, Genesis 2:000 drew a crowd of over 500 onlookers to the Student Activities Building where it was held, and this year, the event's organizers expect a turnout that will fill the building to capacity.
"My hope is to legitimize the artistry of hip-hop culture," said Peter Saji, a University alumnus and one of the event's co-founders. "Rap is a commercialized form of hip-hop. People sacrifice artistry to appeal to the masses."
Saji and other hip-hop enthusiasts want to show the University community that "not everyone in urban communities are doing drugs or in gangs."
Genesis has the track record to go with Saji's claim. Last year's event drew 541 people "and not a single [violent] incident," he said. Hip-hop "can be very non-violent, very peaceful, very positive. Hip-hop is a medium by which people who don't have the means can express themselves."
Genesis is the brainchild of Saji and Debbie Camana, both University alumni. Saji, who graduated last year with a degree in political and social thought, has been interested in break dancing since he was a child.
"My mom caught me doing head spins once and made me stop," he said of his earlier days in the sport.
Although some might consider break dancing as something that faded with the passing of the '80s, Saji notes that the sport has maintained a constant following. For example, pop star Christina Aguilera recently incorporated break dancers into a new music video.
It is Saji's involvement with the hip-hop culture that prompted him to organize Genesis 2:000.
"Hip-hop was a passion of mine that I wanted to share at U.Va.," Saji said.
Saji, who formerly had worked at WPGC, a hip-hop radio station in Washington, D.C., and with the Black Entertainment Television cable network, was able to use his connections to attract high-profile judges to the competition. But much of the event's success undoubtedly comes from Saji's own involvement in the hip-hop scene around Charlottesville and Northern Virginia.
"I go to hip-hop shows," he said. "I can connect with people since I'm part of the culture."
Hip-hop culture is composed of four elements: emceeing, deejaying, break dancing and graffiti art. Genesis 2:001 will represent all four of these elements through emcee, deejay and break dancing battles as well as an exhibit of graffiti art on canvas.
So just how does one go about judging a hip-hop battle? Each element has its own specialized set of judges who are considered to be authorities in their respective fields.
Perhaps the most revered judges will be the Neptunes, two multi-platinum producers from Virginia Beach responsible for well-known hip-hop songs such as Mystikal's "Shake it Fast" and Jay-Z's "Give it to Me." The pair will lend their insights to all aspects of the battle.
In the emcee competition, competitors rap freestyle about whatever happens to be on their mind. The DMC-style DJ competition gives participants, who have made it through preliminary rounds, three minutes to showcase their artistry, through skills such as "beat juggling."
Finally, in the break dancing competition, eight different crews have approximately five minutes to exchange moves, mocking or one-upping the other teams.
Third-year Engineering student Josh Sarfaty was a member of the break dancing crew that took second place in last year's competition.
"The turnout was huge," Sarfaty said of last year's battle. "It was a great success."
Music and artistry aside, one of the key issues that Genesis organizers pride themselves in is the racially diverse crowd that the event draws. Saji said each element of hip-hop seems to draw a particular race; graffiti artists tend to be white, break dancers tend to be Hispanic or Asian, and emcees typically are black. By bringing all of these groups together, the Genesis battle is an outlet for enhancing the racial interaction that many members of the University community will admit is lacking.
"Overall, I think [Genesis 2:000] was one of the more multicultural events I ever saw in my four years at U.Va.," Saji said.
"Hip-hop is a culture in itself and it embraces everyone," said Arun Thomas, the president and co-founder of the Organization of the Advancement of Hip-Hop Culture at the University. Thomas, a deejay who also is the hip-hop and urban director for the University's WTJU, founded the club last year in order to "promote hip-hop as a positive force," he said.
Thomas and the OAHHC have been integral in helping plan this year's Genesis 2:001 so that eventually, the event can continue throughout the years without the involvement of its original founders.
To ensure the event evolves more each year, the organizers have added a few elements of change to Genesis 2:001.
"The competition will be much more fierce this year," said Saji, who attributes the increased talent to last year's success.
"I think it is going to run a lot smoother" organizationally, Thomas added.
Despite the violence and flamboyance that the media attaches to hip-hop, today's event seeks to look past the stigmas that most people associate with the hip-hop art form.
"These are kids with passion and talent" for hip-hop, Saji said. "It's something that should be recognized"
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