There seems to be no limit to the amount of influence the Southwest
has on the arts. Even through two years
of relative isolation, the Tucson hip hop
community continued to expand and
develop. And now, the Tucson Hip Hop
Festival is planned to return this weekend with little change, still celebrating
music, art and culture as it did in 2019.
Although the Tucson Hip Hop Festival has been postponed for two years, it
is returning with dozens of performers
from both Tucson and across the nation. There are also panels, workshops
and competitions at 191 Toole and the
University of Arizona.
Festival director Pike Romero says
the goal for THHF has always been to
focus on all the elements of hip hop.
Beyond the plenty of music performed
across seven stages, the festival includes breakdancing, graffiti artwork,
networking, and panel talks on the
history, politics and religion found in
the scene.
“That’s what hip hop is, that’s what
it was birthed out of. These elements
came together and were recognized as
parts of the same culture,” Romero said.
“People focus on the rap as being the
main aspect of hip hop culture, but it
is so much bigger than that. It’s something you live and you do.”
The festival takes place Saturday,
March 19, and Sunday, March 20. Day
one takes over concert venue 191 Toole.
One of the year’s headliners is New
York City duo Smif-N-Wessun, who
broke into the scene in the mid-’90s
with a blend of East Coast hip hop and
reggae influence. The second headliner is emcee and producer Che Noir,
marking the first female headliner at
the festival. Arizona performers come
from Phoenix, Sierra Vista, and plenty
from Tucson.
Romero says the festival works with
an open-submission system for performers. Many from this year’s lineup
came from the hundreds of applications they received before the canceled
2020 festival.
“We’ve given people their first
shows, based on how unique their style
is from their application. We’ve taken
chances on performers, and it’s turned
out great,” Romero said. “And there’s a
whole team of people who have been
here forever, and are respected in their
field… We ask: Who can we celebrate?
It’s a balance of up-and-coming talent
and people we want to throw flowers.”
Day two takes place at the University of Arizona Poetry Center with
four panel discussions. The first panel,
which features multiple UA professors,
centers around religion, cultural diversity and justice in hip hop. The second
panel discusses “traversing the urban
environment” and graffiti. The third
panel is about what it takes to make it
in the music industry. The final panel
is about music streaming and digital
marketing.
“The UA’s Africana Studies has
been with us and supporting us since
2016. They also get to talk about their
program at the UA,” Romero said. “It’s
kind of evolved into what it is today.
We’re loving the fact that we get to
showcase such a diverse range of
styles.”
Romero says people can be surprised with how much hip hop is in
Tucson, especially for a city famous for
other types of music and art. But the
dozens of local artists ready to take the
stage, mic in hand, proves the scene is
strong. However, the question remains:
Does Tucson hip hop have a specific
sound?
“It’s hard to answer that because
we’re sort of a city of transplants. And a
lot of the music here isn’t so much the
sound of the production, but the lyrics
and words and emotion that represents
the Southwest,” Romero said. “But
there’s a thriving scene here. It energizes people to get out of their comfort
zone and connect.”
This article appears in Mar 17-23, 2022.