New exhibit gives much ‘Respect’ to Oakland, Bay Area hip-hop scene
Respect: Hip-Hop Style and Wisdom image 1 Dropreg DropReg, President of the East Bay Chevs group, in his ride during a video shoot in downtown Oakland. Image courtesy of the artist, Amanda Sade.
By JIM HARRINGTON |
jharrington@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: March 23, 2018 at 3:38 pm | UPDATED: March 26, 2018 at 4:42 pm
Looking for a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T?
You’ll find it at the Oakland Museum of California, which is hosting a major new exhibit addressing the massive global impact of the hip-hop movement over the last 50 years.
The ambitious endeavor is “Respect: Hip-Hop Style and Wisdom,” which is on display through Aug. 12 at the museum’s Great Hall. Its main goal is to open people’s eyes to many different facets of hip-hop culture.
“Basically, what we wanted to talk with folks about is how hip-hop is more than just rap music,” says exhibit curator René de Guzman. “In the final analysis, it’s been an incredibly positive social and cultural movement.
“We want folks to have a much more expansive appreciation for hip-hop.”
The exhibit covers the full timeline of hip-hop, beginning with its infancy in New York and extending to its worldwide reach today. Along the way, de Guzman notes, the music and its related art forms have been surrounded by some longstanding misconceptions, which the exhibit aims to dispel.
“Most people think of it as a subgenre of music,” he says. “Beyond that, there are sort of these kind of stereotypical notions that hip-hop is commercial rap and it’s misogynistic, etc,” he says. “It’s a culture that came out nearly 45 years ago that has matured and evolved and grown to all sorts of things beyond music, such as the youth development (organizations). One really good example is an organization like Youth Speaks, this spoken-word teen development program. And, obviously, there is hip-hop in schools.”
B-Bodhisattva_Still Sanford Biggers, Mandala of the B-Bodhisattva II. Video still courtesy of the artist & David Castillo Gallery.
Local musician and educator Mandolyn Ludlum, who is better known by the stage name Mystic, echoes Guzman’s point as she talks about how hip-hop has impacted her life.
“Hip-hop has allowed me to explore my understandings of myself and the world through my art,” says Ludlum, who acted as an advisor and helped curate some of the music for the “Respect” exhibit. “It has allowed me to be part of collective healing and to work with children and youth in various locations, and that means the world to me as an educator and advocate for children.
“Being a part of hip-hop culture has provided pathways for me to become part of a global community that is connected through culture, craft and often pursuits of justice. I have been able to travel to different parts of this country, as well as internationally, and not only connect with others but gain greater understandings of their daily lives, cultures and acts of beautiful resistance for justice through hip-hop or other forms of activism.”
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Checking out #RESPECT at @oaklandmuseumca
2:25 PM - Mar 22, 2018
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The exhibit tackles the far-reaching aspects of hip-hop in six thematic sections, exploring its global impact as well as the significance of the Bay Area and California in its development.
Hip-hop history buffs should be fascinated by the array of photographs and artifacts on display. Notable items include a handwritten essay by Tupac Shakur, an LL Cool J jumpsuit and Grandmaster Flash’s original DJ gear.
“We are displaying some incredible historic documents from the early ’80s, late ’70s, (like) party flyers from New York, handmade bills,” de Guzman says. “There’s also photography from the ‘80s — the classic moment when hip-hop was coming up. We also have a video from the ’80s, when hip-hop was showing up in very early music programs like Soul Train, Soul Beat, cable access television.”
Joe Conzo Joe Conzo, JDL (Jerry D. Lewis) of Cold Crush Brothers at Club Negril, 1981. Photo print. Courtesy of the Joe Conzo Archives.
There are also curated listening stations, where fans can get an earful of significant hip-hop recordings, as well as a spotlight on hip-hop style, highlighting street fashion — from clothes to hair to grills — high-end couture, even automobiles and other items and styles. And de Guzman makes a point to mention the video mix by Los Angeles-based DJ Mike Relm, shown in an immersive, multi-projector media environment.
“That’s going to be a really impressive thing for people to experience,” he says. “Imagine a 41-minute amazing music video including everything from local hip-hop stars to Run-DMC to contemporary folks like Cardi B and everything in between.”
Speaking of local hip-hop stars, the Bay Area definitely gets its due in this exhibit.
“We are also setting aside a space that is dedicated specifically to the Bay Area. We are calling it, ‘The Town, The Bay,’” de Guzman says. “We are working with local music journalist Eric Arnold. He was one of the early writers for local and national publications and he happens to be in the area. He’s done a hip-hop atlas of the Bay Area, pointing to different places around the Bay — I think over 40 sites — and explaining their meaning and importance historically.”
Bartlow MethodMan Traci Bartlow, Untitled. Underground Hip-Hop Club, San Francisco CA, 1995. Photo courtesy of the artist Traci Bartlow.
Arnold is, indeed, a great source of information on Bay Area hip-hop, a scene that doesn’t often drew the same attention – or R-E-S-P-E-C-T — as some of the other scenes in the U.S. Yet, Arnold makes the case that the local scene has added much to hip-hop over the decades.
“The Bay Area is a main tributary to the stream we call hip-hop,” he says. “It’s been a primary influence since before Day One, when you consider the impact of the Black Panthers, Sly Stone and the boogaloo movement, which was strong in Oakland, San Francisco and Richmond in the ’70s, and helped lay the foundation for the aesthetic and style of hip-hop.
“As far as rap, the Bay helped to write the indie-rap book, with artists like Too Short, E-40, Hieroglyphics, Quannum, Mac Dre, MC Hammer, Mistah Fab, and the list goes on and on.”
Ludlum points out two reasons why she believes this exhibit – and its focus on the Bay Area scene – is so important.
“One is that I believe the history and story of hip-hop in the Bay Area is important to the present and future of hip-hop as a culture and craft in the Bay Area,” says Ludlum, who toured with Digital Underground. “It will be powerful and beautiful for folks who have been involved over time to be recognized and honored in the form of a magnificent and in-depth museum exhibit.
“Another reason is that I think people from different ages, races, ethnicities, socioeconomic statuses, etc. who may not be part of hip-hop culture, or may not even be from the Bay Area, will be able to further understand the culture of it here and in a broader context.”
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Jim Harrington
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U sure I can't test drive this @oaklandmuseumca?
2:45 PM - Mar 22, 2018
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‘RESPECT: HIP-HOP STYLE & WISDOM
When: March 24-Aug. 12
Where: Oakland Museum of California, 1000 Oak St.; 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday
Tickets: $10.95-$19.95 (includes general museum admission); museumca.org
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Jim Harrington
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@jimthecritic
Amazing read @oaklandmuseumca
2:43 PM - Mar 22, 2018
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Jim Harrington is the pop music critic for the Bay Area News Group.
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