Decoding Hip-Hop: Panelists to discuss how digitalization has changed the genre
Digitalization of Hip Hop
Thursday, 7 p.m.
Northwest Campus Auditorium,
FREE to UCLA students
By Lynn Chu
Feb. 14, 2012 11:10 p.m.
Flash back to the ’80s, when hip-hop artists were producing music from equipment in their garages and selling mixtapes from the backs of their trunks to close friends, acquaintances and anyone who passed by.
To many hip-hop music lovers today, this is but a glimpse into the past, a place where they can only identify with feelings of nostalgia as the recent revolution of digitalization has propelled the hip-hop world into a new generation of artists, blogging, distribution and creation.
As part of its eighth annual Hip Hop Appreciation Month, UCLA’s Cultural Affairs Commission will bring together a group of panelists to discuss the current state of hip-hop as a result of this digitalization.
Students can expect to see a wide variety of speakers familiar with hip-hop’s evolution at Thursday night’s panel, including Damian Siguenza, known as Domino from Hieroglyphics, Joseph Baura and Nylles Vernon from hip-hop blog csnowheaties.com, Jermi Thomas from Columbia Records and DJ Amen from 106 KMEL.
“(Some of these speakers) are the ambassadors connecting us to this digital realm. It would be especially interesting to see what (bloggers) think about the future of hip-hop, because their blogs have had an extreme impact (on) the ways we view hip-hop,” said Jordon Norris, a fourth-year Afro-American studies student.
According to Siguenza, although illegal downloading is a main concern surrounding digitalization, the new media is also responsible for marketing his group’s work to a wider audience who can provide fan support outside of purchasing songs or CDs.
“(Digitalization) is a double-edged sword. … What (we) realized is that people aren’t going to buy music as much, so we need to tap into other avenues. As an independent label, this allows (fans) to buy our shirts or come to our shows. It’s well worth the trade-off,” Siguenza said.
Last week, CAC brought in YouTube-established rapper Dumbfoundead as part of its concert series.
Evangeline Ignacio, a third-year communication studies student, says that the impressive turnout was a prime example of how digitalization has created alternate avenues of distributing music to a broader fan base.
“(Dumbfoundead) doesn’t climb the charts on Billboard, but he knows a lot of his fans found him through online sites, whether it (is) YouTube or blogs or (through) a friend,” Ignacio said.
Fourth-year political science and history student Sulaiman Mohamed described the nearly overnight fame of A$AP Rocky in much the same way.
His debut of “Purple Swag” went viral on the Internet in a matter of days, as listeners on the social media blogging site Tumblr reposted his work.
“It’s no longer, “˜Hey, have you heard of this guy,’ it’s who’s (mentioning) who (on Tumblr), who’s following who,” Mohamed said.
According to Siguenza, these examples demonstrate the power shift from the major label to the artist and that these are not the only changes that will occur as a result of digitalization.
He said he hopes that this panel will help enlighten music fans about hip-hop’s evolution.
“I think I can sit around and complain about where music is going, or I can go around and let them know what we do. … It’s not the shame of finding music (for) free, the shame is enjoying something, and you don’t want to give back to it,” he said.
