Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park Presents a Festival to Celebrate Duval’s Hip Hop Culture
On Saturday, February 19, 2022, join Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park for JWJ’s Hip Hop Festival: Lifting Duval’s Legendary Voices – a celebration to honor Black History Month in a unique and authentic way, by teaching the next generation the (core) pillars of Hip Hop:
Emceeing / Lyricism | DJing / Turntablism | Breakdance | Graffiti | Knowledge
JWJ’s Hip Hop Festival will be a platform to educate, illuminate, and acknowledge ALL the elements that encompass Hip Hop in our city – past, present, and future.
Funding for this event is provided through a grant from Florida Humanities with funds from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant allows noted Anthropologist, Dr. Melissa Hargrove to monitor a panel discussion alongside Shelton Hull, Qualaam Waters, Geexella, David Lofton and Mr. Al Pete.
The festival will feature performances by some of Jacksonville’s best Emcees, Lyricists, and Producers including King of Hearts, Mas Appeal, Simple Complexity, King Travelight, and L.O.V.E. Culture; DJ’s including Dr. Doom, Koowah, EnerJi, Mas Appeal, and Mr. Al Pete; Hip Hop Dancers from In The Midst, UNF Dance Crew, Freestyle Expressions, Shake Culture Dance and more; Graffiti Artists Scotty Briggs, Grace Bio, Werms Two, and Bash; interactive participation of Hip Hop Dance and Community Art with kids of all ages; food trucks; and much more to highlight and celebrate the many aspects of Hip Hop Culture.
To curate the festival, Liz McCoy, Executive Director of Friends of James Weldon Johnson Park assembled a team of Jacksonville Hip Hop experts in each of the disciplines: Mr. Al Pete, of Mr. Peterson’s Neighborhood, Che of L.O.V.E Culture, Mas Appeal, Rochelle Underdue of In the Midst Dance, and DJ EnerJi.
“The purpose of the festival is so that Jacksonville’s Hip Hop Culture is celebrated in a comprehensive and inclusive way”, said McCoy.
“This revolutionary art form was born in the streets and is known for its resiliency and endurance. It has no formal school, so we want to bring it back to the streets and share the history, lifestyle and art form with new generations.”
The festival will be free to attend and family friendly and will take place from 10am to 5pm on Saturday, February 19. For more information follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For inquiries, contact Jihan White – Marketing & PR Coordinator at 904 515 5098 x 3or JihanWhite@JWJPark.org
RSVP to the event here.
For Vendor inquiries, please fill out the form here.
For Sponsorship inquiries, contact Liz McCoy at LizMcCoy@JWJPark.org
