BMF Holds Hip Hop Fest

Students sprayed graffiti, danced to old school rap songs, and ate soul food during Harvard’s first-ever hip hop festival Friday afternoon, bringing the University’s observance of Black History Month to a close.

Black Men’s Forum (BMF) Freshman Representative Michael P. Anderson ’08 organized the event, “We Are Hip Hop,” to celebrate a lifestyle that, he says, has been misrepresented in the media.

“What do people think is hip hop?... Somebody not being able to speak English,” Anderson said.

For this event, Anderson said he sought to present the culture in a different light.

“A lot of the music that we’re going to be playing today is some articulate people, some educated people, some social protest music,” he said.

Anderson, who sported a white, Tupac-inspired “Thug Life” T-shirt, white do-rag, and dog tags, said he has been a fan of hip hop “since birth.”

Known to his friends as “Cash” because he is interested in business, Anderson said he recorded original raps in high school. Now, he says he wants the Harvard student body to respect hip hop as a culture.

BMF President Kwame Owusu-Kesse ’06 credited Anderson for taking charge of the project, which was sponsored by the BMF.

“He thought it would be a good idea to end Black History Month, especially with hip hop taking us to the future,” Owusu-Kesse said.

DJ Sci-Fi, a.k.a. Sam N. Ellison ’08, played rap records from the late ’80s and early ’90s by Tupac, the Notorious B.I.G., Ice Cube, and A Tribe Called Quest.

Students socialized, flipped through hip hop magazines, and ate fried chicken, corn bread, and collard greens.

By 5 p.m., Anderson said students had drained $80 worth of Kool Aid.

In true hip hop style, Owusu-Kesse gave props to Anderson and his classmates for contributing to the success of black student groups on campus.

“This is the most impressive freshmen class of black men and women in my eyes; even though we’re just BMF, there’s been a number of freshmen women who have reached out to us and helped us in a number of different endeavors that we’ve undertaken,” he said. “Particularly the freshmen men, they’re just reaching for the stars.”

A crowd formed around Owusu-Kesse, Anderson, former BMF President Brandon M. Terry ’05, and Trevor J. Walsh ’06 as they participated in a freestyle rap session.

Like Anderson, Walsh became involved in hip hop at a young age.

“I bought N.W.A.’s album [Straight Outta Compton] in, like, the fourth grade, and my parents made me return it,” Walsh said. “And so, the fact that I couldn’t listen to it made me very interested, so I just started getting into it from there.”

Association of Black Harvard Women (ABHW) treasurer Nenna N. Nwazota ’06 used spray paint to create a colorful ABHW sign.

She said the event was ideal because it brought together “people who really like hip hop and then people who are like, ‘Wow, I think hip hop is cool but I don’t really know...’ Because it’s more than just the music, it’s the whole attitude.”

At that moment, DJ Sci-Fi played “Back In the Day” by Ahmad and Nwazota began singing along with the chorus: “Back in the days when I was young, I’m not a kid anymore, but some days I sit and wish I was a kid again.”

She smiled and said, “See, this is why I came.”

—Staff writer Andrew C. Esensten can be reached at esenst@fas.harvard.edu.