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 Saturday, November 12 th , 2005 marked the 31 st anniversary of the birth of hip hop. The date also marked the 4 th annual Hip Hop Odyssey Awards (H2O) hosted by the Hip Hop Association (H2A). The Hip Hop Association is an organization that was founded in 2002. The organization's purpose is to use culture as a means to inform the community about media, education and, preservation.
The seven-day event, from November 6 th -12 th , awarded underground directors and honored deceased public icons in the hip hop community. The theme of this year's festival is "Peace, Love, Unity and Having Fun." What distinguishes the Odyssey award show from other award shows is the acknowledgement and screening of public service announcements, music videos, in addition to the customary narratives and documentary films. The first six days consisted of screenings of over 75 films and panels discussing the hip hop community from the 80's to the 90's, when the people spoke out and fought against societal injustice.
 The final day of the ceremony was held at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture on 135 th street in Harlem. The Master of Ceremony was Toni Blackmon and Mums from the HBO drama Oz . The program included a fashion show dance, performances by the Welfare Poets, Nemis, Bryonn Bain, Angali, and Alix, an International Collaboration, and a closing performance by CL Smooth. Awards were given out for the Best Feature Documentary, Best Under the Influence, Best PSA, Best Trailer, Best Short Documentary, Best Freestyle (Experimental piece), Freshest Youth Award, Best Music Video, Best Short Narrative, Best Narrative Feature, and the Heineken Emerging Filmmaker Award.
 In addition to the competitive film awards, Odyssey gave a Living Legend Award to The Last Poets and the Trailblazer Filmmaker Award to Warrington and Reginald Hudlin, the brothers who created House Party, starring Kid-N-Play (who received the Best Rapper/Actor Award), Martin Lawrence, and Tisha Campbell. Finally, there was a tribute in memory of Mixtape Awards founder Justo Faison, rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard, and civil rights activist Rosa Parks.
Winners of the Hip Hop Odyssey Awards:
Best Feature Documentary
"Hip Hop Colony"
Best Under The influence Short
"4 Real"
Best PSA
"Africa"
Best Trailer
"Sling Shot Hip-Hop"
Best Documentary Short
"Reading Between the Rhymes"
Best Freestyle (Experimental Flick)
"The Adventures of Superniggas: Episode
Best Feature Narrative
"Golddigger Killer"
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