Join DJs Don Johnson & Cooley The Curator for Dayton’s #1 Hip Hop monthly. Open MC/producer cypher from 10-11pm so bring your own bars and beats! Free admission from 9pm-1am, plenty of pool tables, and true school Hip Hop all night.
hip hop
Boom Bap in Belmont
Join DJs Don Johnson & Cooley The Curator for Dayton’s #1 Hip Hop monthly. Open MC/producer cypher from 10-11pm so bring your own bars and beats! Free admission from 9pm-1am, plenty of pool tables, and true school Hip Hop all night.
Boom Bap in Belmont
Join DJs Don Johnson & Cooley The Curator for Dayton’s #1 Hip Hop monthly. Open MC/producer cypher from 10-11pm so bring your own bars and beats! Free admission from 9pm-1am, plenty of pool tables, and true school Hip Hop all night.
Two Day Music Fest At Oregon Express
****Ticket pricing and pre sale link coming very soon. Line up order will be available week of the fest. Cheers!
Empire Pool
D.O.S.
Pantomime
The Funkgi
Sour Brain
Herpatitis
Midwestern Mrs.
Mick Mercer
Chicken Leg Randy
Ozzi Zappia
Quinton Lusk
Jared Chambers
Legbone
Landfilth
Bitchy Rackmore
Saddle of Southern Darkness
O’shea The Wicked
DJ-Caleb
Blackspot
Desolate Remains
Battle of the Bands – Week 2 – R&B, Hip Hop, & Rap artists!

– RJ Jen
– Jeremy Street & Fatty Lumpkin
– Blanch Robinson
– R3G
The winner of this round earns a spot at the Dayton Battle of the Bands Finale, among other prizes! The grand prize is an EP session at *Dayton Sound Studios*- the title sponsor of this event. The grand prize winner also gets to perform at Levitt Pavilion Dayton during the summer 2023 concert season!
Ticket link – https://www.venuepilot.co/events/66563/orders/new
Sonic Springs Benefit Concert features Talib Kweli, Cloud Nothings, Monograms & more!
On Friday, July 22nd, 2022 at 7:00 pm The Brightside in Dayton, OH will host a benefit concert featuring national recording artists Talib Kweli, Cloud Nothings, local DJ Fatty Lumpkin, and Brooklyn-based indie rock band Monograms. All proceeds above operating costs will be donated to the independently owned radio station WYSO in Yellow Springs.
Since its inception in 1958, the mission of WYSO has been to serve the Miami Valley and beyond with trusted journalism and artistic inspiration that improves lives and builds community. In 2023 WYSO will be moving from their home on Antioch’s campus to a new studio, including much-needed equipment upgrades and new performance spaces for live-in studio music concerts.
The event will be held under the moniker of “Sonic Springs” and is slated to be an annual concert to bring unique musical performances to the Dayton area. The event is being curated and produced by Eric Mahoney, a filmmaker/producer best known for directing the feature documentary Brainiac: Transmissions After Zero. Eric and his family recently moved to Yellow Springs from Brooklyn, NY.
HOW TO GO?
Friday, July 22nd, 2022 at 7:00 pm
The Brightside Music & Event Venue (905 E 3rd St, Dayton, Ohio)
Food truck on-site: Phat & Rich
Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sonic-springs-a-benefit-concert-for-wyso-tickets-304403126947
Urban Arts Conference Sees Three Year Collaboration Reach Fruition; Local Hip-hop Scene Strong
Three years of urban arts collaboration reached fruition Oct. 14-15, as the Regional Academic and Cultural Collaborative returned to Dayton.
“The goal was to collaborate and present, or pay homage almost, to the culture of urban creative arts and hip-hop,” said Sierra Leone, local poet and producer of the conference.
Leone said organizers signed on for a three year commitment to the community to present national and international celebrities, as well as entertainment executives.
“For us that was a huge highlight,” she said. “Actually following through and completing the project was really major.”
The audience was mostly a younger crowd, Leone said. Some people from Columbus came down, and many attendees were local college students and community members.
Leone said the performance by Januarie York, a spoken word artist from Indianapolis, and the talk by Black Thought, of the hip-hop/neo-soul band The Roots, were highlights of the event.
“She [Januarie York] wasn’t really publicized for being a part of the actual collaboration,” Leone said. “People really raved about her performance and the way she preformed and how she
interacted with the audience.”
Black Thought delivered an inspiring and moving talked, Leone said.
“On top of having a family, on top of being on TV every night, on top of having to get right off work and get to Dayton,” she said, “he came here with us and spent an evening with us. And spoke to a topic that he loves, but is extremely difficult to do. I thought that was very commendable.”
Leone said, aside from coming and speaking, Black Thought brought in T-shirts and pamphlets promoting that topic he spoke of, his grassroots movement in Philadelphia that supports the
betterment of the lives of young girls and ensuring that they have the best possible futures.
She believes Black Thought’s talk was moving because it showed him as a person, not just a Grammy Award winning celebrity. And it gave the audience, especially the younger crowd, an
opportunity to realize that the music is just one piece of the iceberg.
“They don’t realize and understand that the album their buying is just one piece of a whole,” she said. “And in turn, I think just seeing an artist like Black Thought come and say ‘You know, I’m
just as ordinary as you are. And in turn, there are some things I’m not great at. And standing up here and speaking in this form that’s not as artistic can be challenging and I had to work at it.’ Young people hearing and understanding that is great.”
She said having that humbleness and seeing Black Thought in a different light gave the event a much more real and tangible quality to it.
“It really is about understanding who people are at their core and what they believe in and what
inspire them,” Leone said.
It’s this understanding of who people are that DJ Swig believes makes the best hip-hop.
“Everything is changing to pop right now,” Swig said about hip-hop as a whole. “I mean the kids love it and you got to go with what sells. You got to stay hot. If you really think about it, back in
the days of KRS-1, Grandmaster Flash and LL Cool J, they were telling you about what was in their neighborhood.”
“Now the money is involved, and now the whole thing is based on money,” Swig said. “If singing in skinny jeans is going to make me money, that’s what I’m going to do. In all reality,
like what rappers back in the day used to wear skinny jeans. That wasn’t even cool. Now skinny jeans is the fad, because that’s what’s making them money.”
Swig said there’s still some rappers out there that really give you that true hip-hop sound, like Mos Def, Talib Kweli, Common and Lupe Fiasco. The latter two gave key-note speeches and
performances in the previous two urban arts conferences, according to Leone.
“You got to be true to yourself,” Swig said. “I use Mos Def and Common because they tell you what’s going on in the world and that’s what people want to hear.”
He said most rappers aren’t true to themselves anymore.
“They don’t use the stories of their life,” Swig said. “Their using the story of someone else’s life because that’s what sells money. That’s why when you hear a song on the radio it sounds like the song that just came off, like the one they just played.”
Though the hip-hop scene as a whole is turning toward pop, Swig said he thinks the local scene has stayed true. He thinks the scene is taking over.
“I really think you’re going to start hearing more artists from Dayton getting signed, hear about more artists getting distribution deals,” Swig said. “I think the local scene is strong. Believe it
or not, I hear more about local rappers in Dayton then I do anywhere else. Every time I hear something turns out they’re from Dayton. I’m pumped because I really think Dayton[hip-hop scene] is going in the right direction, if they stay together as a community, as a whole.”
This was DJ Swig’s first year participating in the Urban Arts Conference.
“For them to bring people down here to teach you about the actual hip-hop game, and what to do, what not to do, how to win and how not to win, I give them mad props for that because people
don’t get that anywhere else,” Swig said.
DJ Swig said once people realize all the music that came out of Dayton and the surrounding area, they will begin to appreciate the deep roots in the area and understand how the local hip-hop
scene developed.
“Dayton was huge for music back in the day,” DJ Swig said.
Judging by the looks of the strong local hip-hop scene, that day may soon be returning.
Dance It Out
Hip-Hop Dance Fitness Class For Youth
There are many problems facing today’s youth, not the least of which childhood obesity as well as being in the viselike grip of an apathetic technology. It is not enough to buy your children yet another diversion from the real world, such a Wii Fit, or to try and interest them in an activity that holds little charm against the instant gratification of a computer screen and a bag of Doritos. There has to be something that will not only hold a short attention span, but is uniquely positive, not only to build a physically fit body, but also to build a sense of confidence and character as well.
While you cannot deny the physicality of hip-hop dance, most people would not consider it a exercise regime, but when put all your preconceived notions aside, what better vehicle could you think of to get your kids off the couch and moving? Such a class has been created by Geborah Stephen for the City of Dayton Recreation and Youth Services. She has designed a program that not only teaches teens between the ages of thirteen and eighteen the fundamentals of hip-hop (which incorporates a lot of elements from jazz, step and even ballet.), but also subtly guides the youth into having more self confidence to raise their self esteem. Having dealt with dance/fitness instructor Geborah Stephen before, I can personally vouch for her talent, her determination as well as her positive spirit. We were able to have a lengthly discussion about the class and what she hopes the teens will take from the experience.
J.T.: What kind of things does the class encompass?
Geborah: The Hip-Hop Dance Class entails movements that range from jazz and into some more modern dance movements, like pop and locking, but on a little more faster pace.
J.T.: What do you hope that the kids will get out of this?
Geborah: I am hoping that with the experience that I have, I can naturally encourage and empower the youth that attend and I hope that they can walk away with a better grasp of hip-hop, range of motion and general dance movements. I want them to have a better outlook as far as their self esteem and a pride in their inner talents.
J.T.: Do you think that this could lead them to pursue other forms of dance?
Geborah: Yes, absolutely! Hip-hop stems from jazz and modern movements and even some ballet movements. I think that this would be a really nice transition to other classes and types of dance. You don’t even necessarily need to be a dancer. You can use dance as a way of expression using it during your own free time or as a fitness tool. You don’t have to use what you learn to become some type of entertainer. So, yes, it could take several different avenues, but all of them are positive paths.
J.T.: With the issue of childhood obesity being in the forefront of news reports, would this type of activity help them get moving and active?
Geborah: Absolutely! I think that hip-hop is an excellent way to get youth involved in fitness. I think that it is something that they can relate to and so I think that it is an easier way to get them active. It’s a very enjoyable form of exercise and kids love to jump around and express themselves through dance. With a lot of the youth having issue with their weight and trying to stay healthy, I think that my class will be a good tool to possibly get them on track and keep them on track.
J.T.: Well, it’s has real world applications whereas there are not too many instances where you can break out an exercise ball outside of the gym. Do you think that it will get the kids out there for more social interactions instead of in front of the television or the computer?
Geborah: Hopefully, but kids today are really into technology, so I’m hoping that it might spark an interest in getting up and moving more, but I think that technology will always hold sway, unfortunately. Hip-hop dance is evolving and it’s definitely becoming a bit more mainstream and I think it is a very good tool, especially for. I just think it is going to be a really good thing all the way around for the youth in Dayton to get involved in the hip-hop classes.
J.T.: If these premier classes go well, what could you see this thing branching into?
Geborah: Well, hopefully my class takes off in the community. I definitely see myself in the future running my own program that will involve hip-hop dance as well as some jazz movement in an atmosphere where youth can build their self esteem and character through dance and also incorporating some life skills and different things like that. I do have my own ultimate vision for a major project in the future, and I do want to produce and promote more projects like this.
The classes begin on January 5th, but you can sign up anytime as it is a ten week course running every Wednesday and Friday until March 11th. The cost is $25 for Dayton residents and $35 for non-residents and the price includes classes plus a recital and a final showcase at the end of the program. For more information or to find out the times for sign ups, call (937) 333-8336. The classes will be held at the Dayton Bomberger Teen Center located at 1306 E. Fifth St.
Local nominations for the Ohio Hip Hop Awards
The 2010 Ohio Hip Hop Awards and Music Conference is slated for mid-September in Cleveland. The nominations for the awards portion of the event were recently announced, and Dayton got two nods this year. Status Flo Entertainment was nominated in the Best New Group category. Additionally, The Lady T Show on WWSU 106.9FM (Wright State’s student-run radio station) was nominated as Best College Radio Show. You can vote on the winners in each category from now until September 13th.
Do you have a favorite local hip hop artist? Tell us about them in the comments.