Trinity International Hip Hop Festival
Encyclopedia
The Trinity International Hip Hop Festival is a free music festival that brings together Hip Hop
artists from around the world. It has been held annually at Trinity College
in Hartford, CT since 2006. "The festival was designed to promote international understanding and community development through hip-hop." It is "the first and only free global Hip-Hop festival dedicated to educating and exposing the public to Hip-Hop from around the world." The festival was co-founded by Trinity College students Jason Azevedo, Magee McIlvaine, and Ben Herson to "combat the disunity, segregation, and violence of Hartford, CT and Trinity College using the historically education-oriented and politically revolutionary medium—Hip Hop– and focusing on its global potency and proliferation to unify Trinity College, the city of Hartford, and the Globe." The concert portion of the 2009 festival was headlined by Somalian Hip Hop artist K'Naan
and featured performances by many artists including BeatBurgerBand from the Czech Republic
, Poetic Pilgrimage
from the United Kingdom
, Blitz the Ambassador from Ghana
, and Game Rebellion from Brooklyn, NY. The festival does not focus solely on the musical aspect of Hip Hop as B-boy battles, graffiti
art sessions, panel discussions about pressing issues in Hip Hop, and film screenings have been incorporated into the festival each year.
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
artists from around the world. It has been held annually at Trinity College
Trinity College (Connecticut)
Trinity College is a private, liberal arts college in Hartford, Connecticut. Founded in 1823, it is the second-oldest college in the state of Connecticut after Yale University. The college enrolls 2,300 students and has been coeducational since 1969. Trinity offers 38 majors and 26 minors, and has...
in Hartford, CT since 2006. "The festival was designed to promote international understanding and community development through hip-hop." It is "the first and only free global Hip-Hop festival dedicated to educating and exposing the public to Hip-Hop from around the world." The festival was co-founded by Trinity College students Jason Azevedo, Magee McIlvaine, and Ben Herson to "combat the disunity, segregation, and violence of Hartford, CT and Trinity College using the historically education-oriented and politically revolutionary medium—Hip Hop– and focusing on its global potency and proliferation to unify Trinity College, the city of Hartford, and the Globe." The concert portion of the 2009 festival was headlined by Somalian Hip Hop artist K'Naan
K'naan
K'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...
and featured performances by many artists including BeatBurgerBand from the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
, Poetic Pilgrimage
Poetic Pilgrimage
Poetic Pilgrimage is a British Muslim hip-hop duo founded in 2002. It is one of only a very few female Muslim musical groups.Poetic Pilgrimage is a female Hip Hop and Spoken Word duo who wish to take the world by storm with their sounds, lyrics and individual, personal characters...
from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Blitz the Ambassador from Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
, and Game Rebellion from Brooklyn, NY. The festival does not focus solely on the musical aspect of Hip Hop as B-boy battles, graffiti
Graffiti
Graffiti is the name for images or lettering scratched, scrawled, painted or marked in any manner on property....
art sessions, panel discussions about pressing issues in Hip Hop, and film screenings have been incorporated into the festival each year.