On Nov. 16 the Hip Hop for Hope Block Party and Benefit Concert will bring together a combination of New Orleans hip hop artists, AIDS-awareness advocates and zealous Tulanians to support the students at the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School for Science and Technology.
Formerly known as the Edgar P. Hoover School and located in the Ninth Ward, the Martin Luther King Jr. Charter School currently educates 368 young developing minds. The school recently reopened on Sept. 19, but more funding is needed to support educational programming. Hip Hop for Hope intends to close the gap.
"Everybody's talking about [the school]. We're all pushing it a lot because it's an important event, so you've probably all heard about it already," junior Ben Brubaker said to the Hip Hop and Urban Culture class.
Brubaker is a member of an African Diaspora studies class entitled Hip Hop and HIV/AIDS and he is fulfilling the class's service learning component by organizing the benefit. His involvement in the hip hop group The Villa helped cultivate his interest in this project.
"The fact that we're running this event through a service learning class makes it harder because no one is really the leader, and we all have our own roles to fill in ensuring our event is a success. It makes everything more legit, though, because we're not a group with an agenda to push," Brubaker said.
The block party will be held on Nov. 16 at 3:30 p.m. with the partnership of Tulane University student groups, private businesses and non-profit organizations. The party will be at Laurence Park on Napoleon Avenue and Magazine Street.
Brubaker anticipates the event will be "fun for all ages, and all are welcome to come." He also noted that "Hip Hop is becoming more widely respected than it once was, both as an art form and by the community."
The benefit concert will take place later that night and will feature local New Orleans bands, including the Soul Rebels Brass Band and bands from the Media Darling Records Label. Tulane University's hip-hop talent will also be represented by three student bands: The Zoo, The Villa and Spellbinderz. The show will take place at Tipitina's.
"If you come to the block party, you'll be able to buy tickets for only $5. You can go to our Web site, hiphopforhope.org, and check it out," said Brubaker.
The Hip Hop for Hope Block Party and Benefit Concert looks to be yet another example of Tulanians going out of their way to improve their school, their community and their world.
Or as Brubaker said, "It's good local music and a good cause. If you can't identify with the pain and suffering of the Ninth Ward, well…you don't have a heart."
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