~HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE~
Artistic collaboration of dance company, bkSOUL, and spoken word poets, Collective Purpose, HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE explores the power of love and Hip Hop music.
San Diego, CA – Fresh off of their successful partnership on The Movement, bkSOUL and Collective Purpose are presenting a new collaboration, HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE. Presented by Sushi Performance & Visual Art and choreographed by grace shinhae jun (Artistic Director of bkSOUL), HIP HOP SAVED MY LIFE is both a tribute and a narrative to the Hip Hop experience in urban America. The spoken word poetry of Ant Black, Kendrick Dial, and Rudy Francisco (Collective Purpose) explores, through love, critique and celebration, the unique perspectives of Hip Hop music as the voice of the marginalized, global bridge-builder, and empowerment narrative.
A combination of Hip Hop and modern dance, the movements of bkSOUL’s dancers are choreographed to the poetic flow of Collective Purpose’s lyrics. With the background of beats and music familiar to the Hip Hop listener, the presentation is dynamic and moving, imploring the audience to undergo a fantastic journey from the beginning of the Hip Hop movement to its current mainstream appeal. Infusing messages of progress and hope in the lyrics and the dancer’s movement, the presentation addresses the pop-culture undertones of racism, misogyny, violence, and endless entertainment present in Hip Hop’s current form.
Hip Hop Saved My Life premieres on Thursday, March 26, 2009 at Sushi’s performance venue located in downtown San Diego at 390 Eleventh Ave. The performances run nightly through Sunday March 29, 2009. All performances begin at 8 pm, except Sunday night, which starts at 7 pm. Tickets for all shows are Pay-What-You-Can and can be purchased at the Sushi location!
Formed in 2001, bkSOUL (http://www.bksoul.com/) is a diverse community of artists who share culture, language, and soul. Grounded in rhythm and beats, and drawing from the traditions of Hip Hop and modern dance, bkSOUL redefines Hip Hop through body, sound, and spoken word. As children of Hip Hop culture, bkSOUL’s artists seek to embody social justice and activism, fighting racism and inequality collaboratively.
Collective Purpose (http://www.collectivepurpose.org/) is a group of spoken word artists. Founded in 2005, they are committed to their mission to elevate, edutain (educate & entertain), and enlighten the community through words and performance. They intend for art to do more than entertain, it has the power to affect, heal, and transform the community into a place of inclusion, tolerance, and understanding. Collective Purpose utilizes creative expression in the hopes of inspiring others to become truth seekers, truth speakers, and positive change agents.
An integral part of the West Coast cultural landscape, SUSHI-A Center for the Urban Arts, earns national acclaim for the San Diego arts community and provides a forum for artists to reflect the rich diversity of our multifaceted ethnic, cultural, sexual, and personal backgrounds. Its new home is located at 390 Eleventh Ave. at J St. in downtown San Diego. For more information on the shows and tickets, visit www.sushiart.org or call 619.235.8466.
