Words By Jesse H.

There’s something about Brooklyn.

After you’ve lived in New York City long enough to understand the subtle nuances of the subway system (knowing the color of the train you need and the actual letter of the train you need is a very pivotal difference), you begin to have a certain respect for the intrinsic cultural differences of each borough-especially as a Hip-Hop fan.

Staten heads don’t even refer to the island by it’s formal name, thanks to you know what crew. Harlem heads champion Cam’s street stubbornness. Queens residents rock hoodies and Timberlands in mid-summer and fiend for grimey ghetto-narratives. Bronx folk are the old heads who glower at the mention of Solja Boy and the latest dance trend. But there’s something interesting about Brooklyn. Brooklynites like their lyricists pure, their drum snaps crisp and their looped samples mid-tempo. And while Brooklyn fans arguably are the snobbiest (ask any Brooklyn resident, and they’ll tell you ad nauseum about how they “refined” the craft), the list of top-20 caliber emcees that call Brooklyn home is indisputably impressive. So what better place for an independent New York Hip-Hop festival to call home? All the requisite pure-Hip Hop characteristics were on display in excess at Brooklyn Bodega’s 5th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival.

The event got a righteous initiation on Friday with the kick-off party (salute to Noah from BB for organizing). Brooklyn Brewery supplied the booze, DJ’s spun throwback Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t forget to enter for the chance to win Mighty Healthy gear & VIP access @ this year’s Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. Click here for more details.

The 4th Annual Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival will kick off July 11th at the Masonic Temple in Fort Greene. For more info, the calendar of events & tickets, visit www.brooklynbodega.com/brooklynhiphopfestival

Previously Posted — Win With Brooklyn Bodega & The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival | Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival Media Mixer. 6.23.08. NYC.

Over the past four years, Brooklyn Bodega has been instrumental in working the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival. Along the way, we (as well as many of you) have been a part of it as well – watching it expand, the list of performers & offerings increase, and the festival as a whole grow beyond what anyone could have hoped. Read the rest of this entry »

Words By Khalid Strickland

On the real, I’m from Brooklyn. Let me re-phrase that: “Um frum Brooklyn”. Pre-gentrification Brooklyn, that is. I didn’t move there once things got sweet like the aliens who claim it as their own now. When I did my tour of duty on the block, people weren’t in front of coffee shops, sippin’ lattes and eating cucumber sandwiches. Back then, niggas held down the corners puttin’ in work, and the drinks we sipped were in 40-ounce bottles, fuck a Starbucks “Grande” cup.

Being that I’m a pillar of the community, it’s only right that I attended the Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival’s Media Mixer. For the uninitiated, the BK Hip Hop Festival is an annual concert sponsored by multi-media marketing firms, The Room Service Group and Brooklyn Bodega. The three-day event is held in parks & clubs throughout Downtown BK, of course; past performers include Ghostface Killah, Lupe Fiasco, Sean Price, Talib Kweli, and a slew of other notables. This year’s festival, which takes place on Saturday, July 12th, is also championship caliber and will feature a well-balanced line-up of seasoned veterans and hungry, talented rookies. KRS-ONE, DJ Premier and Buckshot anchor a concert which also boasts the likes of Mickey Factz, Blue & Exile, 88 Keys, Homeboy Sandman and J. Period. BK’s own music-video pioneer and Festival host, the legendary Uncle Ralph McDaniel’s, personifies the phrase coined by Pimpin’ Ken Ivey: “Internationally Known, Nationally Recognized and Locally Respected”.

The good folks at Brooklyn Bodega and The Room Service Group put together the Media Mixer so that journalists could chop it up with the BHF’s performing artists. To sweeten the deal, the famous Brooklyn Brewery provided enough free lager to intoxicate a small army. Buckshot, another genuine Brooklynite, showed up to meet the press. Read the rest of this entry »