Washington,DC Sep 01, 2009 What do the pioneer turned PhD Roxanne Shanté, a hip-hop opera that's been dubbed as "cinema for the blind" and the historic Lincoln Theatre all share in common? They are all a part of a unique four-day festival produced by Words Beats & Life, Inc. (WBL), in conjunction with the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an event that's taking over the U Street Corridor from September 16-19, 2009. WBL's 2nd annual Bootleg Festival: Mixtapes, Films and Hip-Hop's Underground Economy will feature panel discussions, film screenings, concerts, and an art installation.
With the help of local businesses and performance venues along U Street, the Bootleg Festival is designed to shine light on hip-hop's contradictions and its contributions to the larger dialogue within popular culture. During our four days you'll be able to find our events held at some of the most notable sites along the U Street corridor such as; The True Reformer Building, Busboys & Poets, and The Lincoln Theatre. The festival specifically focuses on explaining how to create, distribute and profit from the creation of media. This includes discussions during the festival about controversial issues such as women and hip- hop beyond misogyny (a panel that will feature Roxanne Shanté, Iona Rozeal Brown and Toni Blackman, among others) and intellectual property, copyrights, trademarks and bootlegging.
bootleg im Says WBL's Marketing Director, Ashton Wingate, "Part of the inspiration behind this event was the 'Bootleg this Journal' issue of our bi-annual publication, Words. Beats. Life: The Global Journal of Hip-Hop Culture. Now available for free download on our blog, this issue had a specific focus on the mixtape culture in hip-hop. What's great about this festival is that historically, mixtapes have played a vital role in rap music and so we feel that they must be analyzed within the greater scope of the culture."
Ticket Info
We strongly suggest that anyone who plans on attending the festival invest in our all-access passes. Anyone with an all-access pass will enjoy guaranteed seating at all venues, this is especially important for some of our smaller venues. Some of which only seat 100 people. In addition pass holders will recieve preferred seating at larger venues like the Lincoln Theatre. For the generous price of $40.00 your all-access pass grants you admission into all films, panels, concerts and open mics for all 4 days that would otherwise cost you upwards of $100.00 if purchased separately at the door of each individual event. Its the only way not to miss a second of the only hip-hop multi-media festival to come to the district! Buy your all-access pass here!
Tickets: http://bootlegfestdc.eventbrite.com/
About WBL Inc.
Founded in 2002, Words Beats & Life transforms individuals and whole communities through the elements of hip-hop culture. WBL currently serves 150 students at its five DC Urban Arts Academy sites and up to 300 students during the summer. WBL works towards breaking the cycle of poverty and hopelessness using hip-hop in its two main program areas: the DC Urban Arts Academy and the Cipher. The Academy is a pre-vocational arts program for youth ages 5-23 in the District of Columbia. The Cipher is a growing local/national network of and resource for hip-hop based organizations.
For more info: http://www.wblinc.org
WBL Inc.
Ashton Wingate
Marketing Director
email: ashton@wblinc.org
phone: 202-667-1192
WBL Inc.
Simone Jacobson
Cipher Director
email: simone@wblinc.org
phone: 202-667-1192
