Entrepreneurial emcees, graffiti artists, break-dancers and disc jockeys will convene Thursday at The Union, 18 W. Union St., for the first Hip-Hop Shop of the year.
“People thought it was about money and bling, and we set up the Hip-Hop Shop for actual artists,” said Hil Hackworth, rapper for DysFunktional Family. “It’s not just about music, hip-hop is a culture. We try to incorporate all elements of hip-hop.”
The Hip-Hop Shop, hosted once a month, operates on a first-come, first-serve basis. Anyone who wants to show off his or her talents can sign up for a 10-minute performing slot.
Peter Vilardi, a sophomore studying music production, has been coming to the Hip-Hop Shop for a year now to rap.
“The first one usually has a really good turnout, because a lot of people who haven’t gone in a while go to the Hip-Hop Shop,” Vilardi said. “I’ve been telling new people, and they say ‘wow, I really gotta go to that!’ ”
Ryan Schwartzhoff (Emcee Schwartz), rapper for local group DysFunktional Family, has been attending the shop since the beginning to rap and expose himself to the culture surrounding hip-hop.
“I grew up listening to hip-hop, and we used to do battles at the old Casa Cantina,” Schwartz said. “From there, the hip-hop shop started and we started to make our own material.”
Because this is the first show of the year, Schwartz said he hopes a lot of new talent will emerge.
“It’s nice to hear new artists that you’ve never heard of before, especially when they come … and do some dope underground hip-hop,” he said.
Hackworth said underground hip-hop was especially misrepresented in Athens and completely separated from traditional local music.
“A lot of hip-hop artists, including myself, couldn’t get shows anywhere. No one thought Athens wanted to hear hip-hop from local artists,” Hackworth said.
Whichever rapper garners the greatest crowd response of the night will be given a 45-minute headlining spot the following month. This way, Hackworth hopes to highlight a new artist in the community each month.
“Anyone who supports the Hip-Hop Shop, or comes regularly, can do anything they can to help or participate,” Hackworth said. “It’s the hip-hop fans and performers that make the Hip-Hop Shop what it is.”
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