“Celebrate Hip-Hop Culture” bringing artists, dancers, open mic and more to Malone Center on Friday

By Karynn Brown
Jan. 24, 2019

While the winter seems to have settled into Lincoln and events are sparse, the Clyde Malone Community Center has your Friday night entertainment booked.

“Celebrate Hip-Hop Culture” will be hosted at the Malone Center this Friday, Jan. 25. The event is a celebration of all things hip-hop, and a chance for the community to come together.

Set to be a one-night festival of the often overlooked hip-hop culture, Friday’s event features several local stars and organizations. The evening is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. and will include an open-mic portion, live art, spoken word poetry, food, DJ sets, and performance by local rappers Hakim and Sleep Sinatra.

“Celebrate Hip-Hop Culture” comes to the Malone center through partnerships with the Lied Center for Performing Arts, as well as the Young Men’s Business Leadership Academy and the Young Women’s Business Leadership Academy. Thanks to the Lied Center partnership, the first 50 attendees at Friday’s event will receive free tickets to the Rennie Harris show “Lifted” which comes to the Lied on Jan. 26.

Organized by Ishma Valenti, of the Malone Center, and the local hip-hop group KHARI the Duo, Friday’s event focuses in on Lincoln’s small culture of hip-hop artists.

Hakim sees the event as a chance to inspire and enlighten the community about the hip-hop scene.

“Nebraska is behind on the culture of rap/hip-hop,” he said. “We are still a very conservative state, and it shows at the events where rap/hip-hop are predominantly being played.”

He hopes the event will change some minds about hip-hop culture and bring a new light to the local scene.

Other performers in the evening represent a wide variety of Lincoln’s culture. Dances will be performed by Rikki Wallace and the Edge Dance Academy. Additionally, DJ sets by DJ D-Luv and DJ $pencelove will go on throughout the evening.

The Malone Center, located at 2032 “U” St., has been a staple of community events for several years now. They often host before and after school programs, as well as school supply and food drives for students and their families. Friday’s family-friendly event is a welcome change for the community to experience and engage with hip-hop culture. More information about the event the the Clyde Malone Community Center can be found on the Facebook event page.