Inaugural hip hop symposium Oct. 17-19 at UNC Charlotte

Hip hop advocate and author Manny Faces will keynote "To The Beat Ya'll: A Hip-Hop Symposium" Oct. 17-19 at UNC Charlotte's main campus and Uptown.

Hip hop creates social change.

“To the Beat Y’all: A Hip-Hop Symposium” with keynote speaker Manny Faces is Oct. 17–19 at UNC Charlotte’s campuses in University City and Uptown. Robinson Hall and The Dubois Center at UNC Charlotte Center City. The symposium is intended for audiences 18 years of age and older. 

Faces uses hip hop has as a means for social change through teaching and advocacy. Although he started off making music, he turned his love for the art into a cultural movement through journalism and media projects.

Registration is closed but tickets to the Oct. 18 concert: must be purchased online at UNCC’s box office page, https://charlotteboxoffice.universitytickets.com/w/event.aspx?id=1810

In 2017, Faces launched a podcast, News Beat, which discussed political issues and social injustices using music to support the topic. In 2018, he launched Hip-Hop Can Save America!, which covers how the genre can be used as a tool as it typically contains social commentary and cultural nuances that can be beneficial.

Both podcasts support the movements of his nonprofit, The Hip-Hop Institute for Social Innovation. The institute’s mission is to make sure hip-hop is properly documented and understood when it comes to its contributions to society and challenging the narrow mindset placed on the genre.

At the Charlotte event, Faces will continue the conversation with a keynote, “What Would Hip-Hop Do? Envisioning a New Framework for Social Innovation.” The speaker will expand on a TEDx talk that will be released later this year. Faces will focus on how hip-hop innovation and what it means to turn adversity into opportunity and scarcity into abundance.

The symposium includes workshops, freestyle battle, community conversations and dance performances, along with discussions on the influence of hip-hop and its impact in education, activism and cultural diplomacy.

The itinerary:

Oct. 17

Movement and Rhythm at Robinson Hall

• 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM - Registration and Welcome Mixer

• 6:00 PM - 8:45 PM - Dance Workshops

• 9:00 PM - 11:00 PM - Hip Hop and Freestyle Dance Battle

Oct. 18

Culture, Industry, & Celebration, Dubois Center, UNC Charlotte Center City

• 9-9:30 a.m. – Registration, morning coffee and conversation

• 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m - Presentations, art exhibit, panel discussion

Robinson Hall
• 8-10:00 p.m. - Concert

Oct. 19
Impact and Innovation, Robinson Hall

• 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m. - Workshops and panel discussions

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