Most people wouldn’t expect lectures and workshops at a hip-hop event. But these were the focus of “Hip-hop for Social Change: Demystifying the Movement.” The conference, held Nov. 16, featured education about hip-hop during the afternoon and a hip-hop showcase including DJs and break-dancing competitions in the evening.

“I just had the idea that we needed something to bring together different organizations with different backgrounds,” said junior Adrianna Locke, who brought the idea to the Office of Student Development. “To bring everything together — music is a great way to do that.”

“There are a lot of negative stereotypes about hip-hop, and part of the purpose of this event is to break down these stereotypes,” said Pam Larde, the coordinator for student organizations in the Office of Student Development.

The conference began at noon in the Varsity Theatre with a keynote address by Bakari Kitwana, a political science professor at Kent State University and the author of several works on hip-hop. Kitwana’s speech focused on the evolution of hip-hop from a culture to a political movement.

“I believe each generation has faced a unique set of crises, and our generation must rise to meet them,” Kitwana said. He went on to explain the crises of education, unemployment, prison, the wage gap, the war of the sexes and the generation gap.

Kitwana then examined the hip-hop generation, its roots and its emergence as a national culture.

“Rap’s movement to politics is inevitable,” Kitwana said. “We are an emerging political movement — we are not a political movement yet.” He then outlined steps that can be taken to move forward, such as penetrating electoral and public politics.

“It’s important for people — especially students at Marquette — to recognize that there’s movement behind the ‘pop culture phenomenon’ of cult hip-hop,” senior Craig Reinbold said. “And that there are also opportunities to participate in this movement. I think (Kitwana) did a nice job of showing that.”

In the afternoon, several presenters offered workshops in the Alumni Memorial Union. Some of the topics covered were “The evolution of hip-hop in society,” “Effects of militarism on men and women in hip-hop” and “The poetry of hip-hop music.”

“They’re talking about how they use hip-hop to combat racism, ally groups together, reach out to youth of color and show them their options,” Locke said. “They speak about how hip-hop has been commercialized.”

After the workshops, there was a hip-hop showcase at the Varsity Theatre sponsored by Illa Milla records. Performers included LoveDiggy, Fam 1st, Rusty P’s, Fuse, Pure Loyalty and many others. There were also break-dancing competitions.

Corey Lansing, the coordinator for campus events in the Office of Student Development, said the office helped Locke when she approached it with her idea because it thought it would be a worthwhile event to hold.

“It’s something people won’t know a lot about,” Lansing said. “One of our main goals in the OSD as well as at Marquette is to educate.”

“I think this is going to bring out some social injustices that hip-hop usually addresses,” Larde said.

Sponsors included Jesuit University Students Together in Concerned Empowerment, Black Student Council, Sigma Lambda Beta, Sigma Gamma Roe, the African Student Associaiton, Marquette Student Government and the Residence Hall Association.