Inside a 26 Hour Rapathon

Last week we were treated to a very special event for rappers to test their skill level and endurance on the mic. It was the 2nd Annual 26 hour RapathonHip Hop Culture Center held at the in Harlem, NY. More like a marathon of rhyming, this all you can eat buffet of lyricism was dished out back to back in cyphers of 4 to 5 rappers on stage at one time who would alternate with another group of 5 for three hours straight. In between verses which included freestyles and some artists whole catalog of writtens, a consistent old-school hook would be recited, "Rock, You Don't Stop, Keep On, You Don't Stop!"

This kept the speaker pumpin with non-stop rhyming from the time we got there until we left 10 hours later. As for the emcees, only serious heads needed to apply. This was the graveyard shift. The late night replaced by the wee-hours of the morning, followed by the crack of dawn and full-on Sunday morning. To be on your A game at 3:45, 4:45 and 5:45 in the morning seemed to bring out the best in heads that night. As I spoke to the Executive Director, Curtis Sherrod of the Hip Hop Culture Center in Harlem (on 124th St at the Magic Johnson Theater), I found out some interesting things...

First not only is the Center a place for the one of the only Hip Hop Rapathons in the world but it is a youth center that empowers thru Hip Hop Culture. They teach economic literacy, political awareness, Hip Hop and civil rights, diet/nutrition and home economics for young ladies and young men. Besides that on display is "the illest Hip Hop flyer collection in the world" Sherrod told us. As his flagship event, the Rapathon, he says was "one of those flashes of brillance" from someone who is "not the brightest kid but I have flashes of brillance." The decor of the spot is likely being added on to periodically. Now it includes huge posters of Kool Herc, Afrika Bambataa, Cold Crush Bros. etc. old-school flyers are displayed and original-design hand-painted converse sneakers are hanging from the ceiling like they would on a street telephone wire. The stage is in the middle with a huge video screen on the far wall playing back all the action from the stage. No doubt it was a hot event. It was a uniquely original event that any true Hip Hop fan would cherish as a fond memory.

Hasan Salaam

During that same 3am - 6am set of emcees spittin at the Rapathon we got a chance to check out Hasan Salaam in action. It was ill to see how alert everyone was at this time of morning when around the NYC cats were nestled in their beds dreaming about how dope of an mc they are. Meanwhile I peep Hasan Salaam rhymin on both sides of the stage and even from the audience. Maybe it was the Guru 100% Natural Energy drinks that helped but from the look in cats eyes it was the Hip Hop. Hasan like everyone else looked happy to be there even at 5am. Shouts out to Baron, Majesty, 5th Column, Hicoup, and DJ Static for the beat to Broke and Proud.

Rugged N Raw

At about 3am an ill set began. It featured some of the illest emceeing I had seen all night. Not that other cats weren't skillin, but for some reason my attention was drawn to the stage a bit more. When you hear RnR, you think professional; clear diction, on-point flow, witty metaphors and a mind that understands song formula. He spoke to shadesradio.com during the Hip Hop Rapathon and had this to say... "this is how Hip Hop started (with the cypher) and this determines who emcees and who's rappin. The beauty of the whole frestyle is that one minute you could be on-point and another point you could be a little shaky. But the thing is perserverance, keepin it new and really goin at it to see how quick witted you are, and just entertaining the people. It's 4:56 in the morning, and no matter when you go up there you gotta gotta be hungry cause you never know who's watching (or listening)." About the track 'Broke and Proud' RnR commented, "everybody is on these poppy beats talkin bout how rich they are and I don't live that life, so if I put that on wax, I'm not being true to myself”

MCs for Days

The thing that stood out about M-TRI was the fact that as groups of four or five emcees would alternate on and off the stage for 3 hours, M-TRI seemed to stay up there the whole time, on the same side, same place adding to the cypher every couple of verses. This dude had rhymes for days. At first Shy-U noticed it in between smoke breaks and long stints at the car, eating and drinking. Then G-Hop questioned "who's that cat on the side, he been up there mad long?" In fact, over the course of about 10 hours during our first shift we saw a never ending supply of emcees that included: D-Nasty, Fresh Aire Sekou, Baron, Jason aka Syncypha, Malik Sinclair, PPressure, Ra-Set T, Lil Crise, Chao$, MeccaVillain, Alias, Rugged N Raw, Hasan Salaam, Majesty, Just, Kiana, Sofija Sofre, Arson, Carlito, Verbal Artisan, Priest Forever, John O., Supreme Magnetic, Big Wil, Rich Kid, Kween Kash, Nicolette, Major Pain, Gypsy, Endya, Prophetic and more. Peace to everyone that attended who are too numerous to name.

Ali-Mu

During the morning and afternoon sessions Ali-Mu among many others held it down. Though by this time we were safely back in Newark at the ATF Sunday Session. After withstanding a pocket crunching setback at the start of the day, Ali-Mu gathered his rhyme skills and dove into playground of rhyming that he, like most of the other emcees, had never seen before. A group of rappers skillin is the best set-up for Ali-Mu to freestyle. Although he shines in a cypher full of whack mcs, it brings his level down. But when cats are skillin Ali-Mu's mind seems to start racin to where he can weave rhymes as easy as talkin. I've seen him do it. He told me afterward, "Its a great experience, positive energy, networking... I felt like I knew everybody there.Plus Uncle Ralph McDaniels was DJing during my set so it was an honor for me."

Grand Wizard Theodore

At the Hip Hop Culture Rapathon in Harlem we had the pleasure to reconnect with certain pioneers in Hip Hop and meet others for the first time. After being at several events with Grand Wizard Theodore, we were finally able to get a recorded interview with him for shadesradio.com. About the 25 hour marathon of rhyming GWT said, "I'm glad to be here, cause the real essence of Hip Hop is being lost. To be at the Hip Hop Culture Center makes me feel good that Real Hip Hop is still here." Grand Wizard Theodore started DJing at the age of 12 and invented the scratch in 1975. wikipedia defines: "Scratching" is also a present participle of "scratch", and may also refer to a form of street art

Scratching (or "skratching") is a DJ or turntablist technique used to produce distinctive sounds by moving a vinyl record back and forth on a turntable while manipulating the crossfader on a DJ mixer. While scratching is most commonly associated with hip hop music, since the 1990s, it has been used in some styles of pop and nu-metal. Within hip hop culture, scratching is one of the measures of a DJ's skills, and there are many scratching competitions. In recorded hip-hop songs, scratched hooks often use portions of different rap songs.

To talk with the person credited with inventing the scratch, an integral part of the development of modern Hip Hop music, was a great honor. Always respect the architects!

One - Kurt Nice