30th Anniversary Celebration - Videos

In February 1991 a hip-hop conference was held at Howard University. This conference was the first national Hip-Hop conference to be held at a college or university. This event became an annual conference that ran until 1996. It would ultimately launch six additional national hip-hop conferences. The world hasn't been the same since.

In February 2021, The Cultural Initiative (CI) and PowerMove celebrated 30 years of hip-hop at Howard University.

Seizing the Cultural Initiative (Opening Panel)

In February 2021, The Cultural Initiative (CI) + PowerMove celebrated 30 years of hip-hop at Howard University. To kick things off, the two-day celebration explored the origin story of the hip-hop conference and the environment on campus (and within the culture, in general) that helped birth this movement. Panelists included Sheri D. Warren, Akanke Washington, Ceeon D. Quiett Smith, Aaron Lloyd, and April R. Silver (as moderator).

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NOTE: Clicking timestamps will open video in YouTube.

6:00 "Everything surrounding you is art" --and-- "Progressive artists always want to put art in the hands of the people."Amiri Baraka ("Art as a Weapon" video clip)
12:00 Panelists Intros: Sheri Warren, Aaron Lloyd, Ceeon Quiett Smith, and Akanke Washington
20:30 "The Golden Years of Hip-Hop" commentary
24:25 "I don't get here without Chuck D." - Akanke Washington (her origin story to hip-hop)
26:30 "I can't get here (hip-hop culture) without New Orleans" (Ceeon) --and-- "Hip-hop doesn't give a damn about your geography."
31:49 "Howard University isn't what you see now ..." - Akanke Washington
36:38 "Black Nia F.O.R.C.E. was a vehicle for a shift toward more consciousness." - Sheri D. Warren
40:30 The definition and purpose of Black Nia F.O.R.C.E. - April R. Silver
46:43 "People's sub-set of skills matched what they were already doing for HUSA ...our relationships were cemented in our work ... we studied and debated a lot and we studied activism ... we just got Lee Atwater off The Board, so yeah...we can pull of a hip-hop conference" | References Ras Baraka, Sister Souljah, Kevin Powell as well as Amina and Amiri Baraka, Ben Chavis, Sonia Sanchez. - Sheri D. Warren
53:45 "We were all saying the same things in different ways ... it wasn't just a music conference for the sake of putting on a music conference." - Ceeon Quiett Smith
59:06:00 - The first press release of the first press conference, as written by Ceeon Quiett Smith and Marie Eusebe. A reference to A. Haqq Islam - April R. Silver
1:02-1:05 "It was like watching a baby grow up (hip-hop culture) ... and you know that that too can be co-opted..." - Akanke Washington
1:05:00 "I always look at hip hop as before "The Chronic" album and after "The Chronic" album...we were losing a free-ness and a creativity that hip hop has never gotten back" - Aaron Lloyd
1:07:00 "We realized that the powers that be realized that hip-hop [culture] could be a money maker whereas before it was seen as a castaway... they are going to take this music from us ... but our panels spoke to us trying to take control of our own music ..." - Sheri Warren
1:09:39 Ceeon tells the Tupac Shakur story.
1:14:48 April R. Silver tells the Kool G Rap smoking blunts story; how the conference became a multi-year conference (at the recommendation of James Mtume, Bill Stephney, Doug E. Fresh, and Sister Souljah). Note the reference to "Jack The Rapper" and the "New Music Seminar."
1:20:35-1:26 "Ya'll weren't thirsty ... you all were there for a purpose ... when people came to the conference and saw that it was all about the culture and hip-hop, I'm sure that it was a breath of fresh air ..." Aaron Lloyd
1:22:50 April R. Silver tells the story of Sean "Puffy" Combs, Heavy D, and the tragic deaths of nine people at City College
1:26:54 Sheri D. Warren The unparalleled level of commitment of us as student organizers.
1:37:03 Aaron Lloyd talks about Fat Joe and Common in their pre-industry days and seeing them before their "come up"
1:40:20- April R. Silver tells the story of Derek Dudley, our Registration Coordinator (and the story of his artist Common, then known as Common Sense).

Witness the Strength of Street Knowledge

In February 2021, The Cultural Initiative (CI) + PowerMove celebrated 30 years of hip-hop at Howard University. One of the panel discussions was "Witness the Strength of Street Knowledge," moderated by Timothy D. Jones, former CI president.

The focus of this discussion is on the evolution of what is now known as hip-hop education. Panelists included previous members and leaders from The Cultural Initiative: DJ Paul Howard, Dr. Leshell Hatley, Toni Blackman, and Young Guru.

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NOTE: Clicking timestamps will open video in YouTube.

0:00 - Music Introduction
1:53 - Panel Introduction
12:23 - What are some of Hip-Hop's competencies that are overlooked by society?
29:25 - Hip-Hop as a nontraditional career path for all of us?
42:29 - Hip-Hop in the classroom (K-12 and College)
1:08:36 - The challenges of establishing a Hip-Hop curriculum and major at an HBCU. Who is qualified to teach Hip-Hop?

Posters to Posts: The Evolution of Marketing

In February 2021, The Cultural Initiative (CI) + PowerMove celebrated 30 years of hip-hop at Howard University. One of the panel discussions was "Posters To Posts: Evolution of Marketing," moderated by Alberta "Geisha" Coker.

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NOTE: Clicking timestamps will open video in YouTube.

How Did CI impact your career?
16:30-17:32 Derek Dudley (former manager of Common)
18:32-19:00 Derek Dudley

Speak to the Marketing Trends in 2021!!
52:15-52:47 Elsa Lathan (Assistant Casting Director)
54:0 -55:00 Derek Dudley
55:57-56:30 Jazz Young (Former Def Jam Marketing Manager )
59:19-59:32 Omar Hamilton (The International Tourism Curator)
1:27:01-1:27:53 Cephas Jackson ( Av/Audio Entertainment Specialist)

Brands vs Marketing 2021
1:00:16-1:00:36 Omar Hamilton
1:00:51-1:01:17 Jazz Young
1:03:31-1:03:37 Alberta Coker (Moderator)

Traditional Marketing vs Social Media Marketing
1:21:35-1:21:53 Jazz Young

Hip-Hop Business Model

In February 2021, The Cultural Initiative (CI) + PowerMove celebrated 30 years of hip-hop at Howard University. One of the panel discussions, "The Evolution of the Hip-Hop Business Model," featured J. Smiles, Cheryl Marks, Kelly Green, Young Guru, Matt Middleton, Ceeon Quiett Smith, and Timothy Jones (as moderator).

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NOTE: Clicking timestamps will open video in YouTube.

01:00 Purpose and Introduction of the Panel
03:45: Cheryl Marks
7:12 Matt Middleton
12:10 J Smiles
18:36 Kelly Green
22:15 Young Guru
25:24 Ceeon Quiett Smith

KEY QUESTION: "Discuss the Pathways to Executive Status within a Record Company and What Is the Industry Landscape Looking Like Today for Industry Professionals?" Responses From...

32:55 Kelly Green
36:00 Cheryl Marks
42:35 Matt Middleton

KEY QUESTION: "How Did You Know When to Leave Your Job?" Responses From...
47:47 J Smiles
53:35 Ceeon Quiett Smith
58:45 Young Guru
1:08:08 J Smiles

KEY QUESTION: "In 2021, Where Is the Industry Now Regarding Artists?" Responses From...
1:13:00 Young Guru
1:15:00 Matt Middleton
1:22:42 Young Guru
1:23:17 Kelly Green
1:25:00 Ceeon Quiett Smith

Founders' Closing Panel

In February 2021, The Cultural Initiative (CI) + PowerMove celebrated 30 years of hip-hop at Howard University. The closing panel of the two-day celebration reflected on 30 years of a movement that was birth by a bunch of #GenX 20-somethings at Howard University back in the 1990s. Panelists included Ceeon D. Quiett Smith, Timothy D. Jones, Alberta "Geisha" Coker, and April R. Silver. Lance Williams, PowerMove Co-Founder, served as moderator).

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NOTE: Clicking timestamps will open video in YouTube.

0:00 - Introduction of the Cultural Initiative's Mission Statement and the panelists.
14:30 - How did the conference influence us as leaders personally, the campus and eventually the world?
34:35 - What was it like putting on the conference while being college students and recent graduates?
58:11 - What were some of the struggles that you faced while putting on the conference over the years?
1:11:31 - What were some of your reasonings behind ensuring that the conference served as a vehicle for showcasing the knowledge and talent of Hip-Hop to college and high school students?
1:19:17 - How did you assemble together your start up team?
1:26:58 - What would you envision as a part of a viable community centered profitable business model moving forward?
1:40:51 - What is the potential and or possibility of something happening through the Cultural Initiative after this weekend's celebration?