Eventos

---

---

Preserving and Archiving Hip-Hop in the Age of Mass Commercialization

Hip-Hop is almost 50 years young, and despite the early naysayers, this Black art form has taken the world by storm. Seen in commercial ads and political campaigns, spotted across fashion runways and international stages, the influence of Hip-Hop is undeniable. In the age of mass commercialization, how do Black Hip-Hop historians, archivists, and artists preserve the authenticity of the artform? Join Syreeta Gates, Regan Sommer McCoy, Leroy Moore, and Rocky Rockett in conversation about their roles in archiving Hip-Hop art forms, working with DJs to preserve their legacy, and keeping the culture accurately documented and preserved in archives.

Syreeta Gates

Syreeta Gates. Archivist, Creative, and Art Collector. Syreeta Gates is the founder of The Gates Preserve, a multimedia experience company committed to archiving and preserving Hip-Hop culture such that it lasts forever. She produces “Yo Stay Hungry”a live culinary competition that bridges hip-hop with food and beverage—and is co-owner of Most Incredible Studio, which celebrates and commemorates the artists and moments that continue to elevate and define hip-hop culture - through LEGO. She was also on the United States Season 2 of LEGO Masters as the first Black woman. She has produced 4 short films and Gates' archival work includes research for “The Remix: Hip Hop X Fashion” and “A Ballerina's Tale.” Her feature documentary Shaping the Culture, is the history of Hip-Hop in print from copy machines to tweets. Most recently, Gates teamed up with founder of Professional Black Girl Yaba Blay, author and organizer Tarana Burke, and Karen Good Marable to create #ToMaryWithLove, a multimedia celebration honoring the life and legacy of Mary J. Blige on her 50th birthday.

Syreeta has been featured in Forbes, RedBull, Black Enterprise, and many other outlets. Her work was lauded in Tony Wagner's, “Creating Innovators”  and John Schlimm's book, “Stand Up!: 75 Young Activists Who Rock the World, And How You Can, Too!" Gates was also highlighted in Adam Smiley Poswolsky's “The Quarter-Life Breakthrough: Invent Your Own Path, Find Meaningful Work.”

Syreeta holds a Bachelor’s degree in Urban Youth Culture from Hunter College and a Master’s degree in Moving Image Archiving and Preservation from New York University. A native New Yorker, Syreeta is based in Queens, New York. #QGTM

Leroy Moore

(Archivist, Founder of KripHop Nation) Historian,  Founder of Krip-Hop Nation 2021 Emmy award winning Leroy F. Moore Jr. is the founder of the Krip-Hop Nation. Since the 1990s, Moore has been a key member of Poor Magazine, starting with the column “Illin-N-Chillin” and then as a founding member of the magazine’s school, the Homefulness and Decolonize Academy. Moore is one of the founding members of National Black Disability Coalition and an activist around police brutality against people with disabilities. Leroy has started and helped start organizations including Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization, Sins Invalid, and Krip-Hop Nation. His cultural work includes the film documentary Where Is Hope, Police Brutality Against People with Disabilities, spoken-word CDs, poetry books and the children’s book Black Disabled Art History 101 published by Xochitl Justice Press.

His graphic novel Krip-Hop Graphic Novel Issue 1: Brown Disabled Young Woman Superhero Brings Disability Justice to Hip- Hop was published in 2019 and 2020 under Poor Press. Moore has traveled internationally networking with other disabled activists and artists.  Fall 2021 Leroy starts his Ph.D. in Anthropology at UCLA.

Moore has traveled internationally networking with other disabled activists and artists. Moore has wrote, sang, and collaborated to do music videos on Black disabled men. In July 2019 Leroy Moore under Krip-Hop Nation organized African Disabled Musicians San Francisco Bay Area Tour with disabled musicians from Uganda, Tanzania, and The Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2021 Leroy Moore published a book about Black disabled young men under SoulfulMediaWorks.

Leroy has won many awards for his advocacy from the San Francisco Mayor’s Disability Council under Willie L. Brown to the Local Hero Award in 2002 from Public Television Station, KQED in San Francisco and in 2014, San Francisco Bayview Newspaper named Leroy, Champion of Disabled People in the Media on Black Media Appreciation Night.

Regan Sommer McCoy

Regan Sommer McCoy  (she/her) Chief Curator and Founder, The Mixtape Museum Regan Sommer McCoy is a NYC-based curator and community archivist. Her music career began working with Virginia Beach Hip Hip duo Clipse. She is founder and Chief Curator of The Mixtape Museum, an initiative that encourages the research, archiving, preservation, and data analysis of mixtapes. She is a Columbia University Community Scholar, a grantee of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and a charter member of the William & Mary Hip-Hop Collection. She’s currently a 2022 ARSC Research Grantee and her new article, “Mixtape Memories: Hip-Hop Community and Culture at NYC's Mixtape Museum” appears in The ARSC Journal (2021). 

Rocky Rockett

Rocky Rockett (she/her) Community Engagement Officer of Screwed UP HQ Rocky Rockett is a hip-hop educator and the Community Engagement Officer of Screwed UP HQ, a nonprofit dedicated to uplifting Houston’s rich music history and the legacy of DJ Screw. She has contributed to Rolling Out Houston Trend, The Mixtape Museum, and Houstonia. She was a co-curator of the Slowed and Throwed: Records of the City Through Mutated Lenses exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Museum of Houston.