Win a free music scholarship
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
The thirst for positive hip-hop music and deferential representation of women in the music is nothing new.
Essence magazine publicly jumped in the fight in 2005 with their popular initiative Taking Back the Music.
The campaign was waged in response to negative lyrics and imagery in commercialized mainstream music. The popular, national magazine drew a gang of press with its stance.
Allen Bush, a Berklee College of Music staffer, peeped an article on the women’s magazine’s crusade. He gave the mag a holler, since the music school had already started a contest to attract the kind of wholesome hip-hop Essence was pushing. Essence became a major sponsor for the contest, now in its second year.
Judging is based on positive, clever, innovative lyrics as well as melody and composition. There are two grand prizes for two winners. Each will be admitted into the 2007 Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance Program and receive a full scholarship, including tuition and room and board (each valued at $6,480).
One second place winner will receive a tuition-only scholarship (valued at $3,895). And two runners-up get one online music course at BerkleeMusic.com (valued between $595 and $1,250).
The judges panel is comprised of hip-hop professionals and scholars from the Boston-based music college.
Hip-hop judges are Chuck D. (legendary rapper and founder of Public Enemy), Spinderella (former Salt-N-Pepa deejay and co-host of the syndicated classic hip-hop radio show The Backspin) and Jean Grae (rapper, songwriter, producer).
Berklee judges are: Susan Kean Cattaneo (songwriting professor), Prince Charles Alexander (music production and engineering professor), Danielle Scott (ensemble professor) and student Ryan Williamson (contemporary writing and production major, founder of Rykeyz Productions).
Complete details are posted at www.essence.com and www.berklee.edu.com.
Ready. Get set. Go: The contest deadline is March 9.
Cynthia Gordy, assistant editor of Essence, said the mag jumped onboard because “it was important for us to not only talk about the problem but to offer possible solutions. The contest is a way to make a change by your supporting young artists making positive music and give them recognition they wouldn’t get otherwise.”
Gordy said she and magazine are determined to show young hip-hop artists that they can make positive hip-hop music and still get supported.
She noted that not all of current hip-hop music is negative. But major record labels and radio won’t support much of the positive material because negative rap music is selling, Gordy told the American.
Still, the 25-year-old editor of the preeminent magazine for African-American women believes a change can be made in the music
“I think if you look back in hip-hop history, before it became so corporate and was just a subculture, there was a wide range of rappers,” Gordy said.
“There were political songs, inventive stories and amazing lyricism and writing. Hip-hop was more of an art, instead of the product it is now, and music labels are pumping out the same message instead of deviating from it.”
Before hanging up, she had this disclaimer: “I’m coming from a place with love for hip-hop. People say we are attacking hip-hop, but many of us (at Essence) are crazy hip-hop fans. But we can embrace it, while challenging some of it.”
