Positively Baltimore: Exhibit shines light on hip hop in our culture

SURROUNDING THE MUSIC IS CANON. THAT’S THE MISSION OF A NEW EXHIBITION ON VIEW AT THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART. THE SHOW ENTITLED THE CULTURE OF HIP HOP AND CONTEMPORARY ART IN THE 21ST CENTURY, BRINGS TOGETHER ART, FASHION AND MINDSETS THAT HAVE MADE THE GENRE INTO A GLOBAL PHENOMENON IN. JOINING US NOW IS THE CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER FOR THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART AND THE CO-CURATOR OF THE CULTURE EXHIBIT. IT’S GOT ME ON GILT. GOOD TO SEE YOU. WONDERFUL TO SEE YOU. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS EXHIBIT. AND I THINK I LOVE IT BECAUSE IT’S SOMETHING THAT WE COULDN’T HAVE DONE IN THE PAST. I DON’T KNOW IF WOULD HAVE BEEN AS WELCOMING IN ANY MUSEUM TO START TALKING HIP HOP. AND THIS IS GREAT THAT WE’RE IN A MOMENT NOW WHERE I THINK YOU’LL HAVE A LOT OF FACES THERE. ABSOLUTELY. WELL, YOU KNOW, IT’S REALLY ART CONTENTION THAT THERE WAS NEVER REALLY A BIG SEPARATION BETWEEN ART AND HIP HOP. YOU KNOW, THE OLD HIP HOP HEADS HAVE BEEN VERY MUCH INVOLVED IN THE ART SCENE FROM THE START. AND YOU MENTIONED THE ART SCENE BECAUSE IT’S AS A WHOLE, IF YOU JUST THINK THAT HIP HOP IS MUSIC, YOU ARE DEEPLY WRONG. BUT WE ART AND FASHION AND TECHNOLOGY ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT ON THAT FOR FOLKS WHO DON’T KNOW JUST HOW MUCH OF A CULTURE IT IS OF ITSELF. OF COURSE. SO THERE ARE FOUR PILLARS, ACTUALLY FIVE PILLARS IN HIP HOP. MOST PEOPLE THINK, OF COURSE, ABOUT THE MUSIC. AND WITH THAT IS IN SEEING AND DEEJAYING AND SCRATCHING RECORDS. BUT ALSO, YOU KNOW, BREAKDANCING AND GRAFFITI, YOU KNOW, AND THEN LATER ON THE FIFTH PILLAR, KNOWLEDGE WAS AT IT. SO ALL OF THAT TOGETHER COLLECTIVELY IS WHAT WE THINK ABOUT WHEN WE THINK ABOUT HIP HOP. AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO LOOK FAR. I MEAN, YOU CAN LOOK ON TELEVISION ADS NOW ON A BUS STOP OR YOU CAN GO TO A SUBURBAN MALL AND THE MOST SUBURBAN AREA OF WHATEVER CITY YOU WANT TO NAME. AND YOU CAN SEE THE INFLUENCES THAT HIP HOP IS AIR OR. ABSOLUTELY. WELL, IT IS THE SINGLE MOST STREAMED MUSIC FORUM IN THE WORLD. YOU ARE THE THE U.S. IS THE SINGLE LARGEST CONSUMER. FRANCE IS ACTUALLY THE SECOND LARGEST. FRANCE’S FRANCE. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THAT FOR ME? ABSOLUTELY. SO, YOU KNOW WHAT? FRANCE HAS A REALLY INTERESTING HISTORY WITH HIP HOP AND YOU SEE HIP HOP COME UP ALL OF THE PLACES SORT OF ACROSS THE BLACK DIASPORA AND BEYOND. AND SO MARSEILLES HAS A VERY, VERY BIG HIP HOP SCENE, AS DOES AS DOES PARIS, AND HAS REALLY SINCE THE EIGHTIES. SO IT’S A VERY IT’S A VERY VIBRANT AND INTERNATIONAL SCENE IS HIP HOP. YOU’VE GIVEN ME EXCUSE TO GO TO FRANCE NOW. NOW, CAN I I GUESS, PLAY? WHY WOULD I PAY THE BUDDY? SO TELL ME ABOUT THE CULTURE IN THE EXHIBIT FOR SOMEONE WHO WALKS INTO THE MUSEUM FOR THE FIRST TIME, AND THIS IS WHAT THEY WANT TO SEE. WHAT WILL THEY BE SEEING? SO THE CULTURE IS AN EXHIBIT THAT LOOKS AT THE INTERSECTIONS BETWEEN CONTEMPORARY ART, FASHION, MATERIAL CULTURE AND MUSIC. OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, YOU KNOW, WE KNOW THAT THIS THIS YEAR IS THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIRTH OF HIP HOP. BELIEVE THAT OR NOT, WHICH STARTED ALL THE WAY BACK HERE IN THE BRONX WITH THAT VERY FAMOUS WALK PARTY THAT KOOL HERC AND HIS SISTER CINDY CAMPBELL THREW AS A BACK TO SCHOOL PARTY. AND THAT’S WHERE THIS FIRST FOUR PILLARS THAT WE DISCUSSED EARLIER CAME TOGETHER FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME. SO FAST FORWARD 50 YEARS. WE’RE NOW IN THE 21ST CENTURY. BUT WHAT HAPPENS AROUND THE TURN OF THE LAST CENTURY, RIGHT AS WE GO THROUGH THE 20TH INTO THE 21ST, IS TECHNOLOGY, NAMELY MOBILE COMPUTING TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIAL MEDIA MAKES IT POSSIBLE FOR MUSIC TO TRAVEL AROUND THE GLOBE AND IMAGES AND CULTURE TO TRAVEL AROUND THE GLOBE IN A WAY THEY NEVER REALLY COULD BEFORE. AND SO THIS IS THE MOMENT WHERE WE CONTEND YOU’RE REALLY SEEING THE RISE OF HIP HOP AS A PREDOMINANT GLOBAL FORCE. AND IT’S OUR ARGUMENT THAT YOU CAN’T REALLY UNDERSTAND CONTEMPORARY ART IN THIS MOMENT IN TIME. IF YOU DON’T UNDERSTAND HIP HOP, SO YOU WILL SEE PAINTING AND YOU WILL SEE SCULPTURE AND YOU WILL SEE VIDEO, BUT YOU WILL ALSO SEE CLOTHING AND YOU WILL ALSO HEAR MUSIC VIDEOS. AND YOU WILL ALSO SEE MATERIAL CULTURE. WE HAVE EVERYTHING FROM PHARRELL’S VERY FAMOUS BUFFALO HAS TO BE FAMOUS. YEAH. GRAMMYS. YEAH. ALL THE WAY TO TO A REALLY AMAZING LOOK FOR THAT VIRGIL ABLOH DID FOR LOUIS VUITTON IN ONE OF HIS LAST COLLECTIONS FOR THAT DESIGNER. THIS IS GOING TO BE GOOD. IT’S A REAL QUICK GIVE ME THE DEETS. HOW LONG CAN FOLKS COME AND SEE IT HERE IN BALTIMORE BEFORE YOU TAKE OFF TO SAINT LOUIS NEXT? ABSOLUTELY. SO WE WE OPEN. WE OPEN TODAY, WHICH WE’RE VERY EXCITED ABOUT. THIS IS THE THE 5TH OF APRIL. AND THAT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE 16TH OF JULY. ALL RIGHT. WE’RE LOOKING FORWARD TO THE CULTURE OVER THE BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF ART. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US TODAY. THANK YOU. BYE BYE. AND THAT’S ALL FOR THIS EDITION OF 11 T V HILL. THANKS FOR JOINING US. SEE YOU NE

Positively Baltimore: Exhibit shines light on hip hop in our culture

The exhibit at the Baltimore Museum of Art shining a light on hip hop’s place in our culture. The show entitled “The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century” brings together art, fashion and mindsets that have made the genre into a global phenomenon.

BALTIMORE —