Student Organization Spotlight: CSU Hip-Hop Cultural Association

Drop a flow over a hot beat and step up your vocab while you are at it: a new hip-hop student organization has started its initial advances into the Cleveland State University (CSU) mainstream. With numerous academic courses and student associations exploring hip-hop music, culture, history and the impacts of the movement springing up around the nation's universities and colleges, CSU is no longer left behind.

"Hip hop is a cultural movement that began to emerge out of the Bronx in 1973 and ever since then it has been a force to unite people from all over the world. The mission of the organization is to keep that tradition going and expand it," said David Edwards, president of the new CSU Hip-Hop Cultural Association. CSU students Mai-Kim Dang, Juelz Banderas and Roman Verzub serve as the organization's vice-president, treasurer and secretary, respectively.

Having planned a screening for the PBS documentary "Style Wars" this Friday in the Fenn Tower movie theater, the organization is certainly an original presence among student organizations at CSU - the association only debuted this fall and is the first of its kind. "Style Wars" is a PBS documentary on graffiti in New York at the origins of the hip-hop movement. The documentary contains footage of break-dancing from groups such as The Rock Steady Crew and The Dynamic Rockers. "The film gives viewers an inside look into the lives of graffiti artists and the conflicts they faced between local government and other graffiti artists," Edwards revealed.

"It is free to attend, people can come up. We are going to have a good discussion afterward and see what people thought of the film and if people have any comments," said Verzub.

The first objective in the association's undertakings: changing minds and altering perceptions. "Unfortunately, many people get the wrong impression when they think of hip-hop. They limit their knowledge of hip-hop to what they watch on MTV or BET or what they read in The Source or XXL. Many artists who don't promote a stereotype or whose music is thought-provoking and is able to transcend the human experience through intelligent lyrics are marginalized. I want to give those alternative artists a platform for their music. The group will also work on exposing the student body to graffiti, break-dancing, beat-boxing, fashion and other elements that are a part or are associated with hip-hop culture," Edwards stated.

"[Graffiti] is a very misunderstood subculture within the culture of hip hop. By some, it is often viewed as an act of vandalism. Another way to look at it is as art. It's somebody making their mark, telling people: here is what I have to say," said Verzub.

Edwards did not shy away from articulating the group's education mission. "This can benefit a student's education immensely. One thing I really want to do is hold discussions on hip-hop lyrics. There are many artists like Sage Francis or Canibus who don't get mainstream coverage because there lyrics are too intelligent. For example The Guardian once called Canibus 'a walking Wikipedia of conspiracy theory.' There is even a website dedicated to deciphering his lyrics. Almost any subject covered under academia I am almost positive there is a hip-hop song about it. The lyrics in hip-hop cover more topics than any other genre," Edwards claimed.

With momentum building in hip-hop academia, universities are beginning to offer courses which explore the movement. Popular intellectuals and authors have emerged as champions of hip-hop academia, including Michael Eric Dyson, Davey D and Oliver Wang. Academic and student interests have been at the heart of the movement's progress.

"Students should get involved because hip-hop helps nurture creativity. Hip-hop is one of the most innovative cultural movements in the world. Hip-hop builds bridges between cultures. CSU is a very diverse student body. I feel that hip-hop can be that medium in which various cultures fuse together and invent something fresh and spontaneous. Rapping is a vehicle for getting a point of view or a message heard that might not be possible in other forms. Students who have strong opinions can use rap as a means to express those messages," stated Edwards.

"Anything is possible with this organization. Other universities actually offer classes about hip-hop. I think it would be cool if we could bring that same level of intellectual interest and curiosity to CSU and eventually incorporate it into the curriculum," Edwards ambitiously asserted.