Hip-hop awards

Pierce County Awards for Excellence in Hip-Hop debuts

By Paul Schrag on January 17, 2008

There are plenty of unsung hip-hop heroes in Pierce County. It took the urging of Seattle-based Musica Entertainment to get people out to sing, though. If you love hip-hop, you are invited to lend your voice to the chorus this Friday, Jan. 18, at the Washington State History Museum, when Musica presents the Pierce County Awards for Excellence in Hip-Hop. Organizer Ka’sheen Farr says the awards aim to spotlight the positive role hip-hop plays in communities and banish stereotypes perpetuated by pop-culture thugs who give the genre a bad name. The event will feature a panel discussion about hip-hop as a social and civil rights movement, a hip-hop showcase, a hip-hop debate led by students from the Northwest Urban Debate Foundation, and live performances. And the nominees are: Stella Haioulani/Free Ya Mind Inc.; Club Friday/Brick City Project; Rick Ross/Level 1 Media; Ms. Jessy/Felony Entertainment, Xola Malik; Candi Hall/Dash center for the Arts; Shyan Selah; Jerome Davis/Way Out records/Way Out; Flossi-Dolla Entertainment; and Darlin Johnson. “There are people that use hip-hop to build,” says Farr. “And we want to honor them.”

[Washington State History Museum, Friday, Jan. 18, 6:30 p.m., $5-$10, 1911 Pacific Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.9747]