The Breakdown: The Fan (EOHH 2012)

Written by Satori Ananda Sunday, 08 July 2012 00:00

It's Monday following the Elements of Hip Hop 2012. Pics and videos from Saturday are still being posted on Facebook, and I am looking at my new friend requests from the people I met while thinking about playing a couple of the CD's I was handed throughout the day. My car still houses the t-shirts I copped from vendors and my windshield is colorfully decorated with about 8 flyers. As I said its Monday AFTER the Elements festival.

There were so many highlights this year, so many " did you see that" moments and from a couple of perspectives (artist manager, Poor Vida affiliate and culture aficionado) I can't say there were any flaws (big ups to Christina and J Lo) .. it literally appeared to be perfect. And that is from ME, a definite scene critic.

I considered for a couple of days prior to the event which Hip Hop Element I was gonna cover on The Breakdown: the Emcee, The DJ/Producer/ The Graffiti, or the B-Boys... but I chose instead to cover something each of us in the culture can relate to being. The common denominator of us all. The FAN.

An element is a pure substance which cannot be broken down into simpler substances.

Fanship is so personal. That is something I have learned over the years. Your top 5 Greatest Alive and mine aren't going to be the same. Every barber shop has had the debate, every Hip Hop mag has tried (unsuccessfully & most recently the Source) over and over again to set the record straight and the fans at the Elements of Hip Hop were no exception to this tradition about our local scene. I walked by a few conversations about who rocked the stage best, who shoulda won the battle, who DID win the battle, who is about to blow up etc. Great points by each fan, some even reciting lines from the MC Battle and artist performances, and others pointing out their favorite Graffiti piece. I even saw Flotation bust a move on the dance floor in front of the inside stage ALMOST as good as some of the b-boy dancers. Lol well.. kinda.

The diversity of the Dallas Hip Hop fan is the definite cement to the success of Poor Vida events. At one point emcee Misfit shouted out to the Black, White, Latino and Asian people making up the majority of the crowd but there were murmurs from the other multiple ethnicities not necessarily visually represented who hollared back reminding us that Hip Hop is everyone's culture and everyone was there to celebrate it. I brought my 17 year old daughter along , not sure which of us is a bigger A.D.d+ fan (http://divehiflylo.com/). That is something Hip Hop can do for the generations. What it does.

At a couple of points in the night, I talked to various heads lounging around the Green Elephant interested in what element of Hip Hop they related to most as a fan. I spoke to D'lance, from Dallas, he spoke about the music itself. The beats, the underground scene, relatable lyricism and the type of Hip Hop that makes up the club scene in Dallas.

Karma was a fan visiting from San Antonio, her first year at the Elements of Hip Hop, she drove the 5 hours to see Pihon & SamUiLL from Black Chamber Music (www.chamberrebels.com), A.D.d+ and Playdough (http://www.iamplaydough.com/). A definite Hip Hop head, she frequently travels to support the Underground Movement.

Another first time Elements fan, Javier Martinez, read about the festival in the Dallas Observer. (Shout out to Nick Hernandez). Javier is a fan especially of the graffiti element of Hip Hop. A travelling business man, Javier doesn't get to enjoy the scene as much as he would like but he definitely was turned onto new artists and will be looking for more Poor Vida (which he made sure I pronounced as POR VIDA) events!

Two of my favorite conversations of the night was with Noah from NasaGang (http://www.nasagang.com/), a local Hip Hop promotions and marketing group (shout out to sexy Pat http://twitter.com/NASAgangP_A_T) and M Slago a producer out of Nashville, TN. Noah is young and PRESENT on the scene. He is a fan turned industry participant and listening to his enthusiasm about the culture and the Dallas scene was dope. Look out for this crew, they definitely hustle hard. M Slago (http://www.reverbnation.com/mslago), a producer and local radio personality with a SERIOUS beard. No really, it's a very serious beard. Serious just like that boom bap he makes (fans were blessed with some of his beats on stage with various acts including the CoOP http://theco-op.bandcamp.com/). He spoke about the progression of the DJ element into the producer/composer and opportunities internet and globalism has provided.

Dominique Shelton (http://facebook.com/dominiqueashelton) a local artist from Fort Worth was able to summarize the entire feeling that everyone I spoke to wasn't able to say as easily as him.. "I am so full tonite".

If you somehow missed The Elements of Hip Hop 2012, check in with www.poorvida.com to see the video recaps coming soon! Are you an Element of Hip Hop who wants to perform next year? Poorvida.com Sunday Sessions is the best place to start.

Supporting our culture is the only way we can make sure it continues. Please buy local music, support record stores, pay for downloads, cop merch & most importantly keep going to shows!

Satori

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