|
 Since
the 1970’s, Hip hop has been known as a cultural phenomenon
that changed the nature of music. Sprung from the heart
of New York City, the BX, it was the voice and solidarity
for urban America and soon evolved to become the lifestyle
and political phenomenon to empower urban communities all
over the world. However, in more recent years, Hip hop culture
and music has become more of a business and less of a social
and cultural phenomenon. Nowadays, Hip hop seems best known
as the business of creating a marketable culture rather
than celebrating the reality of the people.
In 2003, however, Sasha Dees, with colleague Philip Powel,
went back to the roots of Hip hop culture and formed the
Black Soil Organization. It was founded in none other than
Holland. Hip hop may have been born in the Bronx, but it
was revived in the Dutch, Netherlands. The Black Soil Organization
is committed to stretching the boundaries of Hip hop into
a medium for social change and collaboration, as well as,
a medium for networking amongst people from all over the
world. It’s about communication across cultural barriers.
The organization shows how, according to Ms. Dees, "Hip
hop is not just a music, but a culture and a movement."
The name "Black Soil" was first coined by a comedian
in Holland, named Howard Komproe. However, Ms. Dees, along
with colleague Philip Powel, saw the capacity and potential
of the phrase. Ms. Dees reflects, "we remembered ‘black
and used it to really be about how roads are made of asphalt,
and [how] Hip hop comes out of the city, out of the streets,
where everything grows out of... 'black soil' is synonymous
with the streets."
Reverting back to the streets, Sasha Dees first began her
work by programming American spoken word events. Spoken
word and poetry is one of the most influential "subcultures"
of Hip hop. "Spoken word [and] poetry," Ms. Dees
elaborates , "[comes] out of the Hip hop culture, like
how beat poetry came out of the pop culture." And so,
with experience in spoken word, Ms. Dees began screening
films. Soon, the Black Soil Organization was created with
its first main event, its international film festival. Sasha
Dees explains, "I was already doing spoken word, music,
and TV, so film was the next step." The Black Soil
Film Festival, held in Holland in November 2003, was an
international film festival that screened films, which were
either inspired by or an inspiration to emcees, deejays,
break dancers, graffiti artists, and all other artists of
Hip hop communities around the world.
When screening the plethora of film submissions, Sasha Dees
chose films for certain themes: classical films (made in
the 80s and 90s); international films, which includes any
films not made in the U.S.; Hollywood burn, which are commercial
films that use Hip hop icons (i.e. Ice Cube and Eve in the
motion picture, Barbershop); and an annual theme of choice.
The theme of 2003 was called "Elements," referring
to films that used only one element of Hip hop. This year’s
theme will be "the Source," referring to classic
films and film makers that have inspired young film makers
of today (i.e. the film Scarface, or the film maker Spike
Lee). The film festival features everything from films,
and documentaries to short films and animations. When screening
the films, Ms. Dees primarily looks for the quality of the
film. However, sometimes she bends the rules for films centering
on a particular theme she wants to show. While trying to
feature films that reflect the organization and Hip hop’s
roots, she admits that there’s a tough call between
content and quality.; However, she prefers quality nonetheless.
Film as a medium is very powerful. Film is a form of communication
that is accessible to a large audience, which includes those
who may not read. Hip hop culture alone has become the culture
of communication to unite people worldwide. Thus, Hip hop
in visual media is simply all the more powerful. For this
reason, according to Ms Dees, a Hip hop film festival was
needed. Positive and authentic images of Hip hop needed
to be shown to the world instead of the false images of
Hip hop flooding music videos. Ms. Dees stated, "the
video clips [selling false, commercial images] are proof
enough that film is powerful since that’s what people
are watching." The American commercialized image of
Hip hop affects not only audiences in the states but communities
wordwide that try to emulate the lifestyle. For instance,
the commercialization of gangster rap has been spreading
out of the United States and into continents like Europe,
where now, as Sasha Dees observes, "though Europe is
a very social system, unlike the states, where everyone
is pretty much equal economically, kids just act like robbing
and shooting is cool because on t.v., it’s shown as
cool. [Gangster rap] has traveled to a country where crime
is not necessary." . A major challenge in holding a
Hip hop film festival was convincing foundations to support
the event. Many of the older generations, including the
very foundations that could sponsor Hip hop events, began
losing their faith in Hip hop culture. Sasha Dees, nonetheless,
managed to form a relationship with MTV. MTV provided Black
Soil with free publicity, an opportunity to broadcast a
thirty second trailer, as well as, a relationship that gave
Black Soil the notoriety to become an international success.
Ms. Dees stressed the importance of supporting the film
makers because it is ultimately the film makers that are
representing Hip hop for the world to see. Ms. Dees further
emphasized the importance of giving these film makers "international
platforms, which lead to more contacts." Networking
and communication moreover will bring the organization one
step closer to its goal of an international Hip hop community.
Though there are great differences amongst the films (representing
everywhere from Columbia and France to Cuba and the U.S.),
all of them are representing the same community. Ms. Dees
says that the only true difference rides in the fact that
"people communicate with the tools they have in their
country." Ms. Dees continues, "the content reflects
what's happening in their country politically and socially."
Although much creativity stems from the artist's response
to the social issues of their area, the social issues do
not define and limit the art. In addition, language differences
deter from the general message. Ms. Dees explains that,
simply, "a poem from Columbia has a different flow
than a poem out of Cuba." The differences of each region
give Hip hop a flavor but don't change the ultimate message.
Overall, the November 2003 Black Soil Film Festival has
had a tremendous impact on audiences and individuals on
an international level. The three days of the festival were
filled with after parties featuring prominent deejays, an
art exhibit, the phenomenal group of films, and a provocative
panel discussion stimulated as a result of those inspiring
films. The festival empowered and inspired Hip hop fans
and young film makers alike. It also helped to restore the
integrity of Hip hop for the older generations of sponsors
who were initially skeptical of supporting the event. Moreover,
the most prominent impact of the event, according to Ms.
Sasha Dees, was the use of film, and more so, the use of
Hip hop inspired media for a form of communication and cross
cultural exchange. |
