While publicizing their eclectic line-up of hip-hop entertainment and education, The Kennedy Center’s hip-hop programming revealed a three-day workshop for young producers to receive instruction from Grammy award-winning producer 9th Wonder and members of The Soul Council. The workshop, entitled “Making Beats,” is being held from October 27th through the 30th. The experience concludes with a public showcase where the invited producers, equipped with their workshop beats, will attempt to take command of the crowd. The series of production workshops is just one of the numerous events the Kennedy Center’s Hip Hop Culture Council is bringing to hip-hop audiences in the DC area this year.
Formerly recognized for his contributions as an original member of Little Brother, 9th Wonder’s production has continued to accompany prolific artists of hip-hop’s past and contemporary. There is arguably something for all soul and hip-hop fans to enjoy from 9th Wonder’s catalog. With over 20 years invested in his craft, there’s much for young producers to learn from as well.
Producers invited to the workshop can expect an esteemed crash course on the history of hip-hop production and tools to advance their skills. But for the founding Kennedy Center Hip Hop Culture Council member, this is not his first time creating space for hip-hop education. This workshop, and many other educational efforts of 9th Wonder, are centered around the advancement of hip-hop studies. Similar to this series of instructions, the Carolina producer has taught hip-hop history and production at many higher-learning institutions across the nation. At prestigious universities like Duke, Harvard, and North Carolina Central, the producer can be referred to as Professor 9th. In academia, the history of hip-hop production and the intricacies of the genre are his specialty. Like many of his fellow Kennedy Center Hip-Hop Culture Council affiliates, the producer is actively creating new terrain for hip-hop to be explored while paying homage to its pioneers who are still alive and well.
The Kennedy Center has hosted engaging conversations with some of hip-hop’s most tantalizing innovators; Common and Kendrick Lamar amongst the few. But these experiences serve a greater ambition at the historic performing arts center. After artist Q-Tip became the center’s Artistic Director of Hip Hop Culture in 2016 and LL Cool J became the first rapper awarded the Kennedy Center Honors the following year, the center’s Hip Hop Culture Council was formed in 2018. The council has since set a vision for all hip-hop initiatives at the performing arts center. This vision is carried out by figures such as Questlove and Grandmaster Caz among some of its distinguished council members.
This opportunity not only impacts the young participating producers but recognizes an honest standard of hip-hop studies. The workshop speaks to an original position for the Kennedy Center’s relationship to hip-hop. For 9th Wonder, this workshop and all methods of hip-hop analysis are to consider the genre and its culture from a critical, yet historical new frame.
