Hip-hop enthusiasts packed the Adolphus hotel from as far awayas Michigan for the 2002 Russell Simmons Hip Hop Summit. Theballroom was filled to capacity and hundreds of peoplecouldn’t get past the front door.
Heavy promotion, advance registration, limited admission, afour-hour agenda and a myriad of panelists were all part of theevent. None of those winning factors were in play last Thursday forthe 2003 summit.
The venue was the chapel on the Paul Quinn College campus. Itseemed strangely inappropriate the way secular music blared fromthe oversized speakers at the head of the chapel with banners andposters all around.
Outside, the NAACP registered visitors to vote and “StarSearch” set up their table next to 97.9 the Beat’stent, scoping new talent for its open call. Associates from theRussell Simmons beverage company made sure everyone had a can ofDefCon3. Meanwhile, reps from Rush Card explained howSimmons’ newest product enables users to direct-deposit theirpaychecks onto the card bearing the Visa logo, which works like acheck card.
The event started an hour late and a few last-minute stragglerssat down before the speeches began. The chapel, which is maybeone-third bigger than Perkins Chapel, still had empty seats. Evenif you counted the media, attendance still wouldn’t have comeclose to the turnout at the Adolphus.
The discussion panelists were Russell Simmons, Reverend Run,Erykah Badu, the D.O.C. formerly of the rap group NWA, Headkrack,an on-air personality from 97.9 the Beat and two Paul Quinnstudents. Benjamin Chavis, president and CEO of the Hip Hop SummitAction Network, emceed the event.
They all introduced themselves and explained what hip-hop meantto them. Simmons and Reverend Run received warm welcomes, but thecrowd erupted at Badu’s every action.
Dwight J. Fennell, the president of Paul Quinn expressed hisgratitude and appreciation for being involved with the event.
After the speeches, Chavis opened the floor to questions fromattendees. The question-and-answer session continued for two hours.Many people wanted to know how to get their music and poetry heardby major record companies. Independent label owners wanted to knowhow to get their music onto the radio.
Answers from the panelists were repetitions of advice given outtime and time again: form a grassroots following, request your songon the radio, don’t rely on the majors, start independent andthey will take notice.
Chavis jockeyed the questions, encouraging people to getstraight to the point instead of making statements andshout-outs.
In contrast to last year, not only was attendance down, butthere was minimal advanced promotion for the event. Perhaps thisyear not enough people knew about the event to come out.
Last year’s summit included speeches from communityorganizations, Sen. Royce West, John Wiley Price, the Dallas UrbanLeague and wealth management specialists. There were alsorepresentatives from major record labels on the panel.
Even if attendees didn’t sit for the entire presentation,there were so many organizations in attendance that there wereplenty of networking opportunities.
It’s hard to determine why this year’s summit wasbarely a blip on the radar. Maybe the hoopla was greater becauselast October’s summit was the first of its kind.
One thing is certain though, unless the powers that be step uptheir game for the 2004 summit, they should just forget about itbecause their attendance might be just enough to fill the half ofthe Hughes-Trigg Ballroom.
