Hip Hop Congress freestyles its way to national convention

Three IU delegates are preparing to attend the first ever Hip Hop Congress National Conference to be held May 31 through June 2. The IU delegates, junior chapter president Alex Fruchter, sophomore treasurer Adriana Guerrero and graduate student Amer Ahmed, will travel to San Jose State University and join delegates from the five other university chapters.\nThe National Convention itinerary includes music workshops, chapter workshops, freestyle screenings and a Congress mixer. The music workshops will discuss issues such as problems in hip hop today and provide 10 steps to creating music. The chapter workshops give individual chapters time to meet and develop plans for the coming year and discuss recruiting new members.\nRon Gubitz, one of the creators of Hip Hop Congress and initiator of the IUB chapter, said the convention has opted to hold workshops instead of panels to increase interaction between members.\n"We want everyone to be sharing information, networking and meeting people that are doing similar things across the country. We will also be throwing showcases of artists who want to perform," Gubitz said. "We are going to work hard during the day and then enjoy ourselves in the evening."\nGubitz came up for the idea of Hip Hop Congress while he was a student at the University of Southern California.\n"There was a hip hop academic discussion on campus where many hip hop activists, authors and moviemakers gathered; among them were Michael Eric Dyson and Mos Def. The conversation and concern at the time -- and still today -- was that Hip Hop was going to be taken over and exploited like previous black music and art forms," Gubitz said.\nDuring the same time period, Gubitz and several friends shared concerns about the future of hip hop and wanted a better way to connect, share ideas, discuss solutions and ensure the future of hip hop. Gubitz shared the ideas with USC peer Jordan Bromley, who quickly pushed Gubitz to put those ideas into action.\n"The next day he (Bromley) runs into my room and makes me buy the hiphopcongress.com Web site," Gubitz said. "Since then, we started getting the legal and non profit stuff taken care of, while building a website that aims to inform on everything from science to art to travel to politics, and of course music."\nAfter Gubitz and Bromley launched their site, Reali Robinson and Shamako Noble saw it and informed Gubitz and Bromley that since 1994 they had been organized as a network of West coast artists joined in a group called Hip Hop Congress.\n"We started talking, and instead of fighting over the name or struggling for control, we realized we had the same goal and vision so we merged," Gubitz said. "We have taken off since then, with press, attention and people clamoring to get down all over the world from Argentina to France to Germany to South Africa."\nFruchter said he is looking forward to meeting the worldwide members of Hip Hop Congress and learning from the Congress' creators, specifically Bromley since he has come in contact with him numerous times over the phone and e-mail, but never in person.\n"I'm mainly excited about meeting more people that are doing the same things I am and are involved in hip hop in other chapters," Fruchter said. "It will help us learn how to make our chapter better from some of the chapters from meeting people from chapters like Illinois and Colorado who have done some really great things."\nCurrently, Hip Hop Congress has established chapters at six universities: University of Illinois, University of Southern California, Colorado University, Stanford University, University of California and IU.\nFor most people involved in the six chapters, the convention will be the first time they will be able to meet the members of other chapters they have only spoken with over the phone or by e-mail.\n"The main purpose of the conference is to get people from all the chapters in one room instead of talking through email or over the phone, which we usually have to do in order to plan things with the national board and other chapters," Fruchter said. "It will be exciting to see what we can do when we all get together."\nAhmed shares Fruchter's enthusiasm for meeting the members of chapters nationwide. \n"There is so much more potential in what we are doing once we all directly know who we are. Our ideas become more fluid and our network becomes strengthened by genuine interactions that will occur," Ahmed said.\nAhmed said the ideas shared at the convention will help the IU chapter improve its weaker areas.\n"I certainly hope we can learn how to strengthen our local proactive involvement and shore up more responsible leadership that will hold to the principles of the organization," he said.\nFor more information on Hip Hop Congress nationally and the local chapter visit www.hiphopcongress.com.