Hip-hop and the Kansas City Rep … the Kansas City Rep and hip-hop. Is there any way those two go together?
They will Saturday when “Hollapalooza” takes over the Copaken Stage at 13th and Walnut streets. The show, scheduled to run from 1 to 8 p.m., will include DJs (turntablism), MCs (rapping), graffiti painting, break dancing and a Buttonpush Beat Battle. Tickets cost $10 and will be available only at the Copaken door.
The connection is that the first show of the Rep season — and the first show under new artistic director Eric Rosen — is “Clay,” a hip-hop musical written and performed by Matt Sax. It will run Sept. 6-28 here and then goes to the Lincoln Center Theater in New York.
“We are, under my leadership, really interested in partnering with local artists and people who have different styles than we usually see on our stage,” said Rosen, who is also directing “Clay.” “Hip-hop is the most important musical change of our time; more young people listen to it than anything else. I’m really interested in nurturing the next generation of artists, and this is one way to start connecting with them.”
The Rep chose to work with Stacy D. Smith, who goes by the rap name Reach. Smith came up with the idea of a daylong show that would show off all kinds of hip-hop entertainment.
“I thought this would be a great way to just kind of kick it off,” Reach said. He said if the public gets a chance to see hip-hop in its essence, they’ll be able to better appreciate the play.
“It gives the theater community an opportunity to see what hip-hop is about, and it gives the hip-hop community an opportunity to see what theater is about.”
Reach, who helped establish the local label Kingdome Records, will perform, as will Royce Diamond, Johnny Quest, DJ Jamel Rockwell, Barbaric Merits, Awe, Milkdrop, DJ Sike Style, DJ Shad, Joker 70, Lucid, Naydivz, Negro Scoe, Atilla, Kloudi, Cache 22 and Dutch Newman.
Sax, who will play eight characters in “Clay,” is still recording pieces for it in New York and could not be a part of this show. But ticket buyers can get $2 off a preview performance of “Clay” with a ticket stub from Hollapalooza.
Meanwhile, Hollapalooza attendees who will see and hear these local hip-hop acts for the first time will include Rosen himself.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “It will be cool to see how hip-hop manifests itself in Kansas City.”
One Comment
Hop Hop dancing is bloing up! just look at David Elsewhere and all the commercials they have him doing.