HIP HOP AT HOFSTRA
by: Patia Braithwate
IF hip-hop had a periodic table, it would consist of only four elements. But if you ask around Hofstra University you might discover two more.
“The fifth element is the mental aspect, the creative aspect that goes into it, and the sixth element are all of us [the consumers of hip-hop],” Lamar Brown, 20, said.
Lamar “L-Mighty” Brown, 20, is the president of 6th Element, Hofsta’s only hip-hop club.
In its fifth year at Hofstra, 6th Element aims to keep hip-hop alive through various campus forums and events. The group has an annual MC battle in May where various rappers compete with one another by reciting rhymes that attack their opponent.
“We had a Thanksgiving Showcase last November, and we are trying to do a forum on hip-hop’s effects on professional athletes,” said Brown, a junior film major.
Brown also spoke about the talent that exists within the group. Almost all of the members in 6th Element are working on independent projects.
“We have MC’s, we have a graffiti artist and we have a b-boy [break dancer]. We help promote them as much as possible,” Brown said with a smile.
Another venue for hip-hop is WRHU, Hofstra’s campus radio station. Christina Labrador, 20, is the urban director at the station. She oversees hip-hop music, as well as other “urban” formats.
Labrador, who has been urban director for over two years, said the radio station has its own hip-hop show called “P5,” which plays Saturdays from 11 p.m.–5 a.m.
“’P5’ has been in rotation for over seven years,” Labrador said. “They give the hip-hop news, discuss politics and of course interview all kinds of underground artists.”
Though Labrador admitted that WRHU plays mostly mainstream hip-hop, she said the station also gives exposure to unknown artists.
“We encourage artists to bring their demos to the radio station, and if we like it, we introduce it to our listening audience,” she said.
Labrador explained that as the urban director she feels an obligation to monitor the type of hip-hop that is played at the station.
“My definition of hip-hop would be the blending of a socially conscious group of people,” she said, “because that’s the type of hip-hop we try to play at the station.”