From Flagpole.com
The month of July is Real Emcees Don’t Rap Over Vocals (#REDROV) month, founded by emcee, hip-hop culture promoter and youth educator Marcel P. Black. It’s one powerful element representative of a bigger movement, just as the Oklahoma-based, by way of Louisiana, rapper’s ties to the Athens music scene are symbolic of the sharing and transference of culture worldwide.
The Stop Rapping Over Vocals Movement, spearheaded by Black, provokes a lot of controversy in online discussions and hip-hop podcasts. However, Black says that live performances are the peak form of self-expression, and not rapping over vocals is his way of keeping that alive. On a deeper level, emceeing is one of the elements of hip-hop culture, and he explains it’s a continuation or extension of the African oral tradition that came to North America by way of the Middle Passage.
“On a strictly rap level, it sounds better and is more impressive/entertaining to your fanbase if you can sound just as good as or better than the recorded track when you perform. Also, it makes you more attractive to talent buyers and booking agents,” says Black.
The Classic City is a stop on Black’s #REDROV tour, bringing his “conscious rap for gangbangers and backpackers” to The World Famous on July 23. He was first invited to Athens for former Athenian Kid Arsenic’s album release show at The World Famous in December 2019. Ever since it’s become a regular stop during his tours.
“I love what Montu [Miller] has done as a facilitator and hip-hop cultural ambassador for the city, and I’m the type of person, if you show me love once, I’m gonna show you love forever until you give me a reason not to. I’ve always had a great time in Athens, so I try to come back as much as possible,” says Black.
Miller, ATHfactor-Liberty Entertainment chief operating officer, is also a well-known hip-hop culture advocate and youth educator. Like Black, who has created curriculums intersecting hip hop, social justice and mental health for middle and high schoolers, Miller has integrated hip hop into his lesson plans as a teacher at Cedar Shoals High School. Finding ways to bridge the world of his students to those in his lessons, an understanding of what culture means is imperative to having culturally-sensitive discussions.
“A lot of my classes are dealing with culture, so dealing with hip-hop culture is having them understand what a culture is and understanding that the way I approach hip hop is through a culture. So they can start to understand hip hop is more than music. It’s a culture. Now we can relate what I meant by hip-hop culture to certain Asian cultures or Latino culture,” says Miller.
Within the school system, Black first got involved in hip-hop education in 2008 managing an after-school program, Teen 360 Hip-Hop University, where kids were taught dance, rap, DJing, art and poetry. This past year, in addition to integrating hip hop into his history classes, Black and a friend started Oklahoma’s first high-school record label. In the coming year, Black will be piloting a hip-hop studies program at Central High School in Tulsa, OK.
Miller explains that the rise and popularity of hip-hop pedagogy has provided new credentials for hip hop, that it’s more than music. In his undergraduate studies at UGA and masters at Piedmont University, Miller says he was able to take his life experiences in hip-hop culture and apply them to his education. It drives new and fresh conversations in the education field, but it also draws outside influences to Athens for a unique exchange of ideas. Brazilian hip-hop artist and youth educator Flávio Eduardo Assis, known as Dudu, visited Athens a few months ago while participating in a scholarly exchange program at Duke University. Dudu sat down with Miller for a recorded conversation about what hip-hop culture and youth outreach looks like in Brazil, then participated in the Beats, Rhymes & Life open mic series hosted by Miller at Hendershot’s. The connection between hip hop and education has created a valuable flow of knowledge and experiences while often proving that our lives, both the challenges and achievements, are not that different from one another.
“People can come to our shows and start to understand our culture and know more so we can actually build these bridges and use them,” says Miller. “Get outside your bubble.”
