It makes perfect sense that playwright Idris Goodwin chose 1988 as the year for his coming of age hip-hop stage play “How We Got On.”
Rolling Stone declared 1988 to be hip-hop’s finest year.
It would be hard to argue against them. The roster of artists, albums and songs within that 12 month block that are still considered to be defining moments within the genre – content and diversity.
Hip-hop was represented in several regions: Sir Mix A Lot in Seattle, N.W.A. and Ice T in L.A.; The Geto Boys in Texas; Two Live Crew in Miami; and of course the founding capitol of New York was busy with the likes of Run DMC, MC Lyte, Public Enemy and plenty others.
The Midwest hip-hop heads could catch it from all corners, but hadn’t made its own mark on the scene at the time.
Which is why Goodwin’s play set in a Midwest suburb about a group of teens trying their hand at hip-hop in 1988 should resonate especially well when the UMSL Theatre Department presents the show this weekend at The Touhill.
“They idolize all the big rappers at that time and they are trying to find their voice in the middle of the suburbs at this time,” director Jacqueline Thompson said about the characters. “The playwright is very elusive about where it takes place. There’s even a line in the show where the character says ‘It could be Ohio. It could be Indiana …’ It could also be St. Louis.”
As a child of the hip-hop generation growing up in North County, the play felt all too familiar to Thompson, who is also an associate professor of theatre at University of Missouri St. Louis.
“There’s also a line in the play that says, ‘This is not an Uptown, Boogie Down Story,’” Thompson said. “They want to be like those people they see on TV. But for this play, the moral of the story is about creating art from the things you know.”
The play stars Alexandria Johnson, Nicole Kiethley, Robert White and Andre Williams and features the sound design of Jackie Sharp.
It’s as much a Hip-Hop 101 lesson as a coming-of-age youth drama.
“All of the music is there, the costume and some history of it – like how to make beats and what’s an 808 drum beats,” Thompson said, referring to the Roland TR-808 Rhythm Composer, one of the first programmable drum machines. “A lot of technical stuff about hip-hop is loaded into this play as well.”
“How We Got On” showcases the importance of the hip-hop commandment of “keepin’ it real.”
“So many people rapping about money and wealth, and that may not be your lane,” Thompson said. “That’s not what it’s about. It’s a matter of saying, ‘What is your story that is unique to the world? What do you have to share that people aren’t talking about?’”
That’s what the group of teens discover as they use the music to find their power.
“For me, hip-hop is the freedom to unapologetically say what’s on your mind,” Thompson said. “To say what you feel and be who you are – and being able to spread that kind of truth to the masses – is what hip-hop means to me.”
In the time since ’88, hip-hop’s empire rivals that of the height of the British monarchy – but the domination of popular culture hasn’t come without criticism and stereotypes.
“The biggest misconception is that it’s all negative,” Thompson said. “That it’s all dealing with misogyny and coming from a negative place. That’s just not true. People think that it all has these negative connotations and it corrupts young minds. But there are a lot of leaders who have come out of the hip-hop community.”
They have inspired every generation that followed – and influenced the world.
UMSL’s presentation of “How We Got On” will be presented at 7:30 p.m. on April 7 through 9, and at 2 p.m. on April 9 and 10 at the Blanche Touhill Performing Arts Center, One University Boulevard in St. Louis. For tickets or more information, visit www.touhill.org.
