The windows are down, a cool breeze counters the sun's heat and of course, music fills the air. It's a typical drive through Bloomington for Marquis Vaughn, IU alum and co-founder of the young Knock 'Em Dead Records, Inc. \nOnly this particular day was Wednesday, the day Vaughn drives home elementary school kids from the after-school program where he mentors. So when the opening chorus to Eminem's "The Real Slim Shady" hits his ears while waiting for a light to change, Vaughn reluctantly quiets the rapper's words, breaking his habit of allowing the entire neighborhood to hear his music choice.\nJust as Vaughn feels satisfied with his good judgment, groans emanate from the back of the van. Aiming to please, he turns the music back up and stares at the 10-year-olds as they bop their heads and begin rapping: "I'm Slim Shady, yes I'm the real Shady / All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating / So won't the real Slim Shady please stand up, please stand up, please stand up?"\nVaughn says he was surprised by what he heard that day. "I knew the craze was spreading," he says. "I just never knew it had gotten that far." \nHip hop is a culture invisible to many Bloomington residents. Yet the music, culture and fashion of hip hop made their way to this small town and are now alternatives to the Bloomington entertainment scene.
Hip Hop Support Rising in Bloomington\nHip hop was born on the streets of the Bronx's most notorious ghettos in the early '70s. Gangs, crime and poverty dominated this struggling New York borough, and hip hop formed in response. Over the past 30 years hip hop grew to be the second-most preferred genre of music, dominating 13.8 percent of the market share in 2002, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). \nThe comfortable city of Bloomington is a world apart from the Bronx's ghetto struggles that serve as hip hop's origins. However, hip hop successfully made its way into the more privileged suburbia. According to the RIAA, three-quarters of hip hop record buyers in 2001 were white, helping it break into towns that weren't as diverse. \nIU Chair of Folklore and Ethnomusicology John McDowell attributes hip hop's success in towns such as Bloomington to the artistry and language of its performers. "Hip hop did come from the ghetto and the ghetto experience, and it's been very interesting to see how it has caught on and crossed boundaries," he says. "The sounds and the words of the songs express some of the frustrations and even the anger that adolescents experience in this country. It works through some of the dissatisfaction, which enables everyone to relate to it."
Hip Hop Hits Bloomington's Clubs, \nClassrooms, & Campus\nAs hip hop album sales continually increase, so does the demand for live performances within the club scene, says Brad Wilhelm, director of Rhino's All Ages Music Club. As a result, Wilhelm incorporates hip hop's popularity into his club's atmosphere. \n"We split our music 50/50 between punk and hip hop," he says. "However, in the 11 years I have been here, hip hop has grown tremendously, and we have more local acts than ever before. Hip hop has been alive for a long time, just underground. Now, it's really alive, and I don't see it fading anytime soon."\nHip hop's beat is heard throughout the North Walnut Street bar scene. Both the Bluebird and Axis Nightclubs have live hip hop acts that consistently attract popular artists such as 17th Floor, the Mudkids and even Sir Mix-a-Lot. Bloomington is also home to the popular MC styles of Halfblown, Versatile and 2 Scoops.\nIU even joined the rhythm of hip hop. Through IU, Bloomington is home to one of only nine chapters of the Hip Hop Congress (HHC). This national organization's purpose is to "use the culture of Hip Hop to inspire young people to get involved with social action, civic service, and cultural creativity," according to the group's Web site. \nIU's chapter aims to spread hip hop throughout Bloomington. It also works to attract national artists, despite the fact that Indiana is a state typically skipped during touring.\nHHC Chapterhead senior Alex Fruchter grew up with hip hop and now works to promote the culture that defines and inspires him. Fruchter says hip hop is "so much more" than people often envision, and "that's what HHC is out to show."\nFruchter also says that there are a lot of people who love hip hop at IU, even if it isn't seen on a stage.\n"The thing about hip hop is that it happens all over -- it doesn't just exist in a set place and at pre-determined times," Fruchter says. "My boys and I freestyle all the time. All you need is a voice and a beat. That's what makes it so great."\nSaturday is a prime opportunity for those interested in flowing, as the HHC is holding an MC Challenge in the courtyard of Collins Living Learning Center, with a $100 prize for the winner.\nThe Folklore and Ethnomusicology department also offers courses focused on the origins of hip hop and its culture. \n"Having classes in hip hop helps us connect and understand young people," McDowell says. "Studying hip hop as an art form and as a culture is very important and well deserved."
Hometown Hero Brings Hip Hop Fashion Home\nA graffiti-style sign marks the entrance to W. Seventh Street's Urban Stylz Inc., Bloomington's first, and until recently, only, urban wear boutique. Inside, the store screams style. Clothes from Baby Phat, Fubu, Rocawear, Phat Farm, Dada and Sean John grace the clothing racks. Posters of hip hop's biggest stars, who also design most of the lines, plaster the walls while their latest hits complete the store's ambiance. \nWhile both the store and the styles are relatively new to Bloomington, the president and founder of the store is not. Before making a name for himself as an entrepreneur, Derrick Cross gained attention on the basketball court at Bloomington North High School and later at Miami University in Ohio. \nIt was both basketball and education that provided the athletic and stylish 29-year-old Cross with the background inspiration for his store. He grew up with hip hop but admits he never embraced the style until he was more exposed to the culture during college. It wasn't until Cross returned to IU for graduate school that he realized Bloomington had a lack of urban influence and overall style. \n"I was constantly driving to Indianapolis to get the clothes I like," Cross says. "There was nowhere in Bloomington for me to go shopping. It was on the way back from one of those trips when I realized Bloomington really needed a store with some modern, urban clothes."\nCross admits Bloomington doesn't appear to be a town in which hip hop would have an influence strong enough to support an urban wear store, but his and co-founder Aurora Marin's nine months of success prove otherwise. \n"Hip hop's influence touches everyone," Cross says. "It's biggest stars design lines that they themselves wear while performing and when the music and culture are thriving like they are right now, businesses like mine do well."\nCross also says that the store, while a big hit with IU students, doesn't cater to one type of demographic or race. "We have customers from IU and from the big cities that some students come from," Cross says. "However, we have plenty of small town kids who love the style too. Bloomington is predominantly white but hip hop has a wide appeal, which allows us to have a variety of customers."\nLike hip hop, Cross and Urban Stylz Inc.'s popularity don't seem to be fading anytime soon. The hip hop culture exploded into the fashion world since its birth, and fans consistently look to its stars to find out what's hot.\n"If Urban Stylz Inc. doesn't make it, it's not because of administrative problems," Cross says. "It would end because Bloomington doesn't like the style we sell. But, right now business is good and it promises to stay that way."
The Future of Hip Hop in Bloomington\nAlthough hip hop is alive on the streets and in the clubs and classrooms of Bloomington, Vaughn, McDowell and Fruchter all agree that it has a lot of growing up to do.\n"Within the college scene, hip hop is thriving," Vaughn says. "However, the town needs some work. The club owners and the artists have to be smart about it. They can't sing about drugs and the ghetto, or they'll never make it because Bloomington doesn't feel that." \n"I have to say the hip hop scene has grown in the last few years, and is still growing," Fruchter says. "It is still small in relation to other places, but it's alive. The HHC is striving to make the scene bigger and more connected, and we have all sorts of things planned for this year."\nMcDowell says Bloomington has not yet taken to hip hop in the same manner most cities have. \n"However, to have a Hip Hop Congress and to feature hip hop artists is a huge step from what it used to be like," he adds. "Hip hop is here, and it has a following." \nFor more information on the Hip Hop Congress contact Alex Fruchter at www.hiphopcongress.com or afruchte@indiana.edu.
