The red carpet for rappers
Twin Cities hip-hop’s night to shine.
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WHAT: 5th annual Twin Cities Hip Hop Awards
WHEN: Fri Jan. 28, 8 p.m.
WHERE: First Avenue, 701 First Ave. N
COST: $10/$12 at the door
Any halfway conscious Twin Cities dweller is aware that hip-hop has become paramount to our local music scene. What they might not be aware of is that the verse-spittin’ brilliance extends far beyond the productions of Rhymesayers. All of the talent deserves celebrating, and they’ll all get it this Friday at the 5th Annual Twin Cities Hip-Hop awards.
“It’s definitely the place to be for anything hip-hop related in the Twin Cities,” said American Idol finalist and award nominee best R&B artist, Paris Bennett.
Initiated just five years ago, the awards show seeks to bring together the diverse community of Twin Cities artists in a positive way.
“The Twin Cities are awesome and great but there’s still tons of segregation,” one of this year’s hosts Franz Diego said. “We have this huge underground hip-hop scene but the majority of people have no idea.”
By guiding them together for a night of recognition and live music, any tensions that may exist in the outside world are temporarily dissolved.
“It cultivates a crowd that’s not seen anywhere else,” Diego said. “There’s so much diversity, and it’s super positive.”
The awards themselves — 26 total — range from categories like “Best Kept Secret” and “Album of the Year” to more humorous varieties like “Best Hustler.”
In addition to the presentation of awards, show-goers can expect some fiery live sets from standout local names like Maria Isa, No Bird Sing and Paris Bennett.
Despite the clear encouraging vibes that the event is attempting to foster, in recent years it’s been circled with controversy. One reason for this is the voting system. There is no cap to the number of online votes that users may cast for specific nominees. Artists could essentially have a group of their buddies sit at the computer and vote for them a million times. This bothers some people. While the true sentiment of the TC Hip-Hop awards is surely about community and it’d be nice to assume the integrity of local artists, some folks just won’t shut up about it.
The other shred of controversy involves the unfortunate happenings of last year’s show: a physical fight onstage between emcee Boima Freeman and an anonymous stage-crasher.
“Everybody thought it was a joke until they started fighting during the awards show,” Diego said. “It sabotaged the whole event. Everybody had to leave.”
The media’s reaction to the fight was somewhat muddled and in response several local artists, including Diego, released written statements hoping to somewhat lift the fog.
That sporadic occurrence shouldn’t cast a lasting shadow over the event. There are plenty of positives to focus on, mainly the loads of hip-hop artistry that will be witnessed firsthand.
“Everyone is so creative here,” Bennett said. “I guess it shows that we really do have a lot of talent.”
Talent, certainly, that will become more apparent and accessible through events like the hip-hop awards. Eyedea & Abilities articulate the collective feel of local hip-hop best: “Ain’t nothing quite as beautiful as music.”
