‘Hip Hop Lives’ 6.5.09 *Last Show*
Posted by Mighty Flipside Esq. | Filed under Events
HipHopLivesNOW.org
A message from Electric City:
DJ Skipmode and mighty FlipSide esq.
For the past 11 years Electric City Entertainment has brought you “Hip Hop Lives!!!,” Philadelphias longest running underground Hip Hop show. Complete with live bands, guest mcs, visual art and loyal supporters, “Hip Hop Lives!!!” remains the crowning achievement of our music careers.
Every first Friday night We,ve been proud to contribute to Hip Hop music and its culture. Unfortunately it’s time to bring Hip Hop Lives!!! (as we know it) to a close. Although “Hip Hop” itself will never die, the climate to give a monthly live Hip Hop show in the city of Philly is dying. The once rich downtown cyphers, supported by the live music of South Street, balanced by the underground parties in North Philly and West Philly, have all but vanished. “Hip Hop Lives!!!” was the salvation for those who loved raw Hip Hop. It was for people who wanted to have a good time, while avoiding the violence that plagues many Hip Hop arenas. We could always rely on an eager, supportive atmosphere month after month even after several venue changes (La Tazza 108, the Tri-Tone, Five Spot,Dobbs/Pontiac Grille, Cafe Habana, Mroom, the Fire) our show always survived. Now a failing economy, and pop DJ’s are changing the face of our Philadelphia music scene.
With many venues in the city closing, a lack of interest in the Philly live music scene, and with many more options on 1st Friday, it is time to rethink our strategy. It is time to reconvene, reorganize, and make a strong adjustment for the future of “Hip Hop Lives!!!” so that we can continue to contribute to Hip Hop music and its culture. In short we are stopping our 1st Friday run, but this is not the end of our parties, or our commitment to the Hip Hop Community.
ECE announces a new initiative to merge the worlds of hip hop, activism and education. By working closely with Philadelphia youth, our new Hip Hop program will cultivate young artists to give them the knowledge, life skills and motivation to transform their lives and their communities.
Welcome to HipHopLivesNOW.org a place for Blogging, Promoting, Listening, Learning, Teaching, showing some love, and yes…even a place for being a hater too!
Make sure to stay close so we can give you more info, and please give us your feed back!
“Piece and Love”
-mighty FlipSide Esq.
and DJ Skipmode-
Tags: Hip Hop Lives
June 5th, 2009 at 2:56 pm
Hip Hop Lives…. we will miss you.
June 5th, 2009 at 6:37 pm
You guys should be proud…so many good times and incredible music. Countless funk and jazz bands with numerous known and unknown MC’s. Robothouse, Reef, Adam 12, Digs, Grand Agent, Baby Blak, Chief Kamachi, Fathead, Breakbread, JMT, Writtenhouse, Dr. Ketchup, Plastic Little, Outerspace, Intense, Hustle Simmons, J Sands, Jneiro Jarrel, Burndown, Kenneth Masters, Dice Raw, Burke, Clean Guns, The Hustle, Natural Selection, Schools Of Thought, Brothers From Another, Mickey Facts, Last Emperor, Tony Catastrophe and his many bands, Viro The Virus, Hezekiah, Bohemian 5th, Philadelphia Slick….plus so many more that I can’t even think of. All good things must come to an end but you know many more doors will open….
June 9th, 2009 at 1:43 am
dawg,
i got chu. a little anecdote about this last first friday jawn. there was a blind cat there. at first i thought it was some hipster with a weird cane. but i took a second look, and dude looked stone-cold blind. the best part is, he was open. i closed my eyes for a minute, tried to get a glimpse at the shit from a blind man’s eye. the visuals son. i felt bad. i questioned if this guy was blind or not. but surely he was. hear no evil, see no evil. i’m that gene wilder nigga.
June 15th, 2009 at 3:39 pm
Yes! Will be missed. New ventures to come!
September 9th, 2009 at 2:25 am
Sad. But I love this letter. Bless up, hip hop, education, activism, and a collaboration of all of it. You are a teacher and an artist and you inspire me.
July 10th, 2011 at 8:34 am
The Internet is a huge worldwide network of clever, knowledgeable computer lovers, by which I mean, “folks without lives.” We do not care. We have each other. ~Dave Barry