It was great to see community elders like ethnomusicology professor Cheryl Keyes who sat on the Flip the Script panel, Kamau Daaood and George Lipsitz who sat on my panel. Hip Hop has often suffered with a generation gap. We don't often get to hear and benefit from the wisdom of our elders. Again, I can only reiterate that I think more Hip Hop conferences should be done on University settings. Nowadays Hip Hop conferences have become big money making showcasing themes that are dictated by the music industry.
Lets be honest a lot of good stimulating discussions, networking and building are overlooked.
Not to dis, but all I'm hearing about the recently held Impact convention is how much of a party it was As Hip Hop continues to mature we have to take control and seriously push to make sure it develops in a healthy and impactful way. The key lesson here is for folks to organize locally and think and act globally. Hopefully next year there will be a way for the organizers of The Harvard Next Level Conference and the UCLA event to build together. My hats off to them for a job well done. Hip Hop continues to develop, you will notice that more and more people are developing curriculums and courses that can be used in school settings.