BY SPENCER BAKER, Staff Reporter
Central’s newest club “Hip-Hop at its Finest” is looking to establish hip-hop culture on campus.
“You don’t have to have a talent,” Art Nelson, club president and junior Japanese education major, said. “We are a community looking for people that want to know more about the hip-hop community.”
The club had its third meeting last Wednesday, and all of the 20 active members are still trying to learn as much as they can about each other. Most of the first three meetings have consisted of “show and tell,” so the members can showcase their talents, which include rapping, dancing and art work.
The club’s meetings are going to be used mostly to teach the members about the hip-hop culture, but there are sub groups that will focus more on individual talent. The sub groups are art and music, tech, dance and production.
Nelson formed the club because he was tired of rapping in his apartment alone. Nelson has been rapping seriously for two years now and wanted to expand his personal circle of fellow rappers.
“There is another kid in his apartment writing raps, and I want him to have a community to go to,” Nelson said. He is hoping that this club can bring the knowledge of hip-hop culture to Central.
While attending multiple events in search for potential members, Nelson found his vice president at “Mr. and Mrs. Central.” Albert Calhoun is an undecided major freshman who has been rapping since he was 9 years old.
Calhoun did not start seriously rapping until he was in the sixth grade in Texas. He got his start in a talent show at school and won second place. Because of his performance, someone invited him to perform at a barbecue in a city park.
With all of the positive feedback that he got from those two performances, Calhoun realized that rapping is something he can be doing for a long time.
“That and I don’t have an athletic bone in my body,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun moved from Texas to Washington in June after his father was stationed at Fort Lewis.
Calhoun has recorded about 18 songs since moving here under the stage name Einstein, and he has been working on a mix tape since November. Calhoun is releasing the mix tape on Friday, Feb. 21, titled “The New Equation.”
Calhoun’s favorite rapper is Childish Gambino “because he does everything I want to do: rap, sing, act and comedy.”
“I fit a Drake mold, but I don’t want to be held to that box,” Calhoun said. He has nothing against Drake; it is just “I pride myself on being versatile.”
According to Calhoun, the mix tape is about “looking at past mistakes and starting new.”
Calhoun will be handing out mix tapes around campus; it will also be available for free download on DatPiff and Soundcloud under the username “Einstein The Mastermind.”
“Hip Hop at its Finest” has many more talented people than just Calhoun. Before the meeting, Nelson was introducing himself to new members by free styling to a beat playing.
During the “show and tell” section, Jose Hernandez, junior social work major, showed his clothing line that he started called “Ink 22.”
“I try and use the Pacific Northwest in all of my designs.” Hernandez says. One of the designs he showed was a painted handprint, with the dripping paint at the bottom forming the Seattle skyline.
After the art show, Tramayne Bryson, sophomore music major, gave the group a taste of his talents by a spoken word performance.
The group is full of talented people in every aspect of hip-hop culture. At the end of the year, the group plans to use everyone’s talents to make an album. The rappers will collaborate to make the songs, the producers are going to make the beats and the artists will make the album cover.
After the group makes the album, they want to throw concerts where the technical group will set up stages, sounds and lights.
“Hip-Hop at its Finest” is a community with multiple talented people that “can change the culture at Central,” Nelson said.
