Hiphop in the Park 08

I hit up the 12th annual Hiphop in the Park on Saturday in Berkeley's cozy historic green lands, People's Park. The festival is consistent in showcasing up and coming local artists who wield a variety of weapons from the aerosol can to the mic, and this year proved no different than the past twelve.


Featuring an impressive balancing act of musicians, the heavy hustling flow of Clyde Carson matched by the empowering melodies of Mystic, or Kiwi and Geologic's potent lyricism blending seamlessly with Talia's soothing brand of self-determinism, Hiphop in the Park offered a diversity of sounds to the listener. And let's not forget the impeccable hosting skill of Do DAT from the Attik crew.

Sponsored by UC Berkeley's Students for Hiphop, the festival holds its own as one of the very few free, all age celebrations of Hiphop culture in the entire Bay Area. Where else can one spot the youngins gettin' down on the linoleum with seasoned breakdance veterans? Or an entire park speckled with gravitating freestyle ciphers, revolving like celestial systems around the massive crowd choppin' it up on a beautiful, sunny afternoon? Where else does Hiphop breathe so freely than a park that welcomes the whole community to celebrate together?


Hiphop in the Park proudly showcases the original four elements of Hiphop but goes far beyond graffiti art, breaking, djing, and mcing in reppin' the culture to the fullest. The entire afternoon resounds with the vibrancy of a generation, the thumping fist of a community standing up, and the joyful sing and dance of a people that reap the sweet juices out of life. Now that is Hiphop.


If you missed it, then well, there will always be next year.