The New School’s recently-founded Hip Hop Collective held their first gathering Thursday night in the basement of the University Center. There was live music, sick beats and a taco buffet. In other words, they did their launch party the right way.
From beginning to end, the event’s venue was flooded with chill vibes, upbeat attitudes, and a high-level of respect aimed toward the musicians that were dropping bars in front of the audience. Whether you’re a hip hop lover or just a unknowing passerby, the event was welcoming and extremely enjoyable.
“It was really clear that the people there were passionate about music and community. I hardly knew anybody there but I really felt like I was a part of something.” Olivia McChesney, Parsons freshman said when asked how she enjoyed the event.
The event’s Facebook page shows 99 confirmed RSVPs. Though no one was keeping track, by monitoring the amount of people that came in and out of the event and counting the large amount of people that stayed through all of it, it’s incredibly possible that that number wasn’t far off.
Musicians performing ranged from different backgrounds and various different skill levels. For the most part, the featured rappers were ones that are popular in the local New York hip hop scene, and not New School student or faculty. These guys had some real experience. But there was also an open mic opportunity where anyone could take a stab and drop some lines.
To accompany the rappers, there was a full band made up of New School students and a DJ setup manned by Karen Louviere, a Lang senior. The music never stopped.
It wasn’t until the end of the night that one of the event’s main organizers, Lang freshman Daniel Zucker, had challenged performer and Hip Hop Collective faculty advisor Samuel Sellers, or Rabbi Darkside as he was so enthusiastically referred to throughout the night, to a freestyle battle. At this point, things got real. Really real.
See for yourself.
Though it took a bit of convincing, Zucker was able to convince Rabbi Darkside to join him up on the wooden stage for a quick battle. Be thankful that he did.
Aaron is one of the New School Free Press' two editors-in-chief. He is also a news writer with Time Inc's automotive website The Drive, previously covered cars and other moving things for Business Insider's website Tech Insider, and also was previously a contributing writer with Gawker Media's automotive website Jalopnik. He is currently a Journalism + Design student at The New School.
