National Hip-Hop conference continues at ASU

ALBANY — Circling The Elements, a national conference on hip-hop culture which began on Thursday, continued this weekend at Albany State University.

Founded by Andre Johnson, an assistant professor of English at ASU, Saturday’s events started with a program addressing racial profiling and police brutality “apologists,” and continued through the day with presentations, panel discussions, Q&A sessions and live performances to investigate various aspects of hip-hop and its complex relationship with rap music and American society.

It’s uncertain when hip-hop came into being, Johnson said, but the name itself is attributed to a tune by the Sugarhill Gang in 1979 called “Rapper’s Delight,” which contained the words “hip, hip, hip to the hop.” Paradoxically, while rap music is often associated with African-American practitioners, Johnson says the art form is supported primarily by young Caucasians.

“Most of the people who actually buy the music and go to concerts are white adults, 17 to 25 years old,” Johnson said. “They’re what keeps the business afloat. For that matter, many here at the conference are Caucasian.”

More than three decades after “Rapper’s Delight,” hip-hop encompasses much more than rap music, the more commercial aspect of the culture, including graffiti, break dancing and deejaying. Johnson compares hip-hop — and especially rap culture — with his vision of the iconic Western movie hero.

“I love Westerns,” Johnson said, “and every afternoon I try to watch a rerun of ‘The Rifleman’ on TV. The rappers stand on stage, like Chuck Connors with his rifle, saying ‘I’m a man and if anybody wants to test me, I have this rifle.’ Now, the rifleman didn’t control his personal presence, but someone along the way said, ‘We can make some money from this.’”

The weekend conference is the second such national event, Johnson said. The first was held last year at ASU. This year’s event features author Joan Morgan, ASU assistant professor of English Kimberly Harper, music photographer Carolyn Grady, Duke University Professor of African & African-American Studies Mark Anthony Neal, and ASU English student Lila Willis.

According to Johnson, while the conference is open to the community, many of the attendees include professors and Ph.D. candidates from as far away as Texas, Boston, California and even Japan.

“Our goal for the conference is to have community involvement. We want people to come out and learn about true hip-hop, to join in the discussion of the genre and how it has affected America,” Johnson said. “In addition, we want to continue the national pull into Albany and have conversations about these things.”

The conference is scheduled to end today with Elements Showcase Performances from 2 p.m-4 p.m at the ASU Student Center Ballroom.