Hip Hop Congress

Mothers Outreach Movement and the United for Youth Coalition organized a vigil

On Tuesday, Dec. 16th, members of the Seattle community led by MOM
(Mothers Outreach Movement) and the United for Youth Coalition
organized a vigil to be held on the corner of Alaska and Reineer in
the south end of Seattle. During the vigil, whose purpose was to honor
the lives of those who’ve passed in a recent outbreak and youth
violence in Seattle’s South End and Central district, another shooting
took place at Garfield Community Center near the High School on the
corner of 23rd and Cherry. This is only weeks after another shooting
took place at the High School just one block around the corner. The
organizers of the vigil, committed to responding instantaneously to
such violence, moved the vigil to the site of the shooting. HHC
Northwest Regional Coordinator, Julie C and HHC president Shamako
Noble were on site and these photos were taken by Julie C.

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Why Should I Support Hip Hop Congress?

You want to support developing young leaders: Hip Hop Congress helped support hundreds of leaders all across the country in a variety of different ways. Don’t believe us, check out what people are saying themselves. You want to support the next generation of artists, academics, writers and cultural producers:

Hip Hop Congress is connect to and working to support independent artists all over the country. We know that the music industry, mainstream arts community and other outlets sometimes missed out on some of the most spectacular art and music out there. We want to be a hub for that material, as well as a support network for those artists who are out there struggling to keep their art connected to their community. You believe in the power of the arts, music and culture to impact out children and our future:

We believe in the power of culture, art and music to make an impact on our society. We are committed to identifying and cultivating the best in Hip Hop, and taking a stand using Hip Hop as tool to create a better world.

Sponsor a Chapter:

Are you an alumni of one of our chapters or from a community or campus where we have one? Do you want to support youth, artists and young leaders in a very specific way. Make a donation, and tell us where you want it to go.

Sponsor an Artist:

Is there an artist in our program whose work you’re completely blown away by. Do you want to do more than just buy an album or piece or work? Then support an artist through HHC and let us know that you like what they’re doing.

Support an Event:

You can request your donation go to supporting our National Conference, Regional Conferences, or any of the events put on by our National organization and our chapters.

Where will my donation be going?

Staff: Hip Hop Congress has full time and part time contractors working in its. This staff keeps the organization moving forward, connected and growing.

Programs: Our chapter program and artist program are ever expanding and we want to deliver more support and enrichment to those leaders that need it most.

Events: Our Summits and Conference’s help our organization stay focused and on task while giving leaders a chance to meet, connect and strategize. If you believe in HHC, and you want to support something clear and concrete, this events are key.

You can download our last year’s expenditures and current fund raising goals here.

“I’m sold. How do I make my contribution?”

You can make your tax deductible contribution through our website. Just click the donate button and use your credit card. Please note your email, and we will follow up with a receipt of donation and any other documentation that you may need.

While we love embracing technology, if you prefer the old fashion way of donating, please send your contributions to:

Are there other ways that I can contribute?

Web Content: We are always looking for original work and for writers to contribute to the website. Please contact Aaron Berkowitz at berkowtiz@hiphopcongress.com

Buy from us: In the coming months we will have an online store offering music, merchandise and literature from our partners. If you don’t want to donate, maybe we have something that you want to buy

Volunteer at an event: If you are interested in volunteering, please contact us, and we will forward you to the appropriate regional coordinator who will get you plugged in where appropriate as quickly as possible.

Wish List: Please view our wish list to see what kind of items HHC needs donated. If you would like to donate an item directly, please contact Shamako at shamako@hiphopcongress.com

What are your ideas?

If you don’t want to do any of these things, and you have something in mind, let us know. We know that you’re ideas are usually the correct ones.

How to I become a monthly donor?

If you would like to establish an automated monthly schedule of donation, please contact Shamako at
shamako@hiphopcongress.com and that can be arranged.

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The Great Harlem Debate Was the Obama Election Good for Black People?

by Davey D

Listen to this Debate on Breakdown FM by clicking the link below

http://odeo.com/episodes/23767113-The-Great-Harlem-Debate-pt1

http://odeo.com/episodes/23767115-The-Great-Harlem-Debate-pt2

featuring remarks from; Dr Leonard Jeffries, Dr Marimba Ani, Malik Zulu Shabazz, Charles Barron, Glen Ford, Dr Don Smith, Viola Plummer, Dr James Turner, Pam Afrika & Afrika Bambaataa

with music from; Brother Ali, Rebel Diaz, Zion I, dead prez, Common, Kev Choice & Afrika Bambaataa

This past Sunday over 1200 people showed up at Salem Methodist church in Harlem to listen and weigh in on a discussion that has been raging on in our communities but oftentimes swept under the rug. The historic election of Barack Obama has been a source of pride for many. Record numbers of Black people came out and voted for him. His largest percentage, a whooping 94% of Black folks punched his name in the ballot booth. However, many did so wondering if an Obama election will lead to pressing issues within the African American community would be addressed, or if his election would symbolize to those outside the community that racism was a thing of the past?
Read more »

MySpace Bans Project Playlist, Facebook Defies Same RIAA Request

By Scott Gilbertson December 22, 2008 | 10:34:29 AM from wired.com

In the world of online music, 2008 has been the year of the playlist sharing sites, but sadly it’s also been the year of the playlist sites being shut down. The latest victim is Project Playlist, which was recently banned from MySpace.

Project Playlist is an online mixtape sharing site similar to the recently shut down Mixwit and the long-gone Muxtape, but slightly different in that much of the focus is on sharing playlists through social networks like MySpace and Facebook.

Over the weekend, in response to pressure from the RIAA and major labels, MySpace shut down Project Playlist’s widgets and banned the service from the site.

The Project Playlist website (a social network in its own right) is still alive and kicking, but since many of the site’s users rely on the embeddable player to share playlists on other social networks, the MySpace ban will no doubt prove painful.

Starting on Friday evening, MySpace began shutting down Project Playlist’s widgets, telling affected users that “your Project Playlist widget has been removed from your profile in response to copyright complaints.”

For its part Facebook has so far refused to comply with the infringement notifications that led MySpace to ban Project Playlist. While that will likely earn the site some points with fans, it probably won’t last long. However, in an interesting twist, Project Playlist recently hired former Facebook Chief Operating Officer Owen Van Natta as its CEO. Whether or not that cozy relationship affected Facebook’s decision is unknown and neither party was willing to comment, citing pending litigation.

Project Playlist is being sued by Warner Music, EMI, and Universal Music Group, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), but at least one label — Sony BMG — has struck a deal with the site.

Although the terms have not been disclosed, the deal is good news for the some 40 million Project Playlist users who now legally use songs from artists and bands on the Sony label in their playlists.