Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip-Hop Arts

On Saturday, Jan. 15 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. you can join the Winter Block Part at the Chicago Urban Art Society, 2229 S. Halsted St.

The block party is sponsored by Chicago Public Media (WBEZ-Chicago) as one of their Off-Air Event Series and the best news is that it’s free.

The all-day event builds up to a special evening event exploring the roots of Chicago’s legendary House scene.

The event features a visual art and graffiti gallery exhibition by some of Chicago’s most notable and up-and-coming contemporary artists, along with a marketplace, hip-hop barbershop, film screening, live sampling showcase, a one-on-one B-Boy/B-Girl battle hosted by The Legendary Brickheadz, an Open Mic Academy open mic, and music all afternoon by some of Chicago’s favorite DJs including Itch 13, Sweatpants Money and DJ Susannah Kim (just to name a few!).

There are many visual artists involved, including: Aron Hanson, Rodrigo Solo Mireles, Chris Silva, Nick Deter Adam, Ruben Like Agurrie, Revise CMW, Kane One, Ray Cro Noland, Roy Gardnier, Lili Blis, Christophe Roberts, Rahmaan Barnes, Johnny Sampson, Stephen Flemister, Hebru Brantly, Krista Franklin, Roy Afeks, Peter Kepha, Molly Butterfoss, Jonathan Mills, CZR PRZ, Josh Grotto, Carlos Dominguez (Vintage House Flier Collector), Tonika “TONI” Johnson, Jose Estrada, Billy Craven, Rick Leech, Lauren Feece, Raul V Diaz (Vintage Hip Hop Flier and Tape Collector), Carlos Dominguez (Vintage House Flier Collector), Kevin Starke, Emily Anne Evans, Bramercy, and Dyen NSH (Vintage Spray Can Collector). With a marketplace featuring AKIN Chicago, Novem and more! A complete catalog of works-for-sale will be available at the door, and select prints will be featured for sale in the WBEZ Store beginning in early January 2011.

At 1 p.m., “Copyright Criminals” — a film that examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, tracing the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry — will be shown for a small fee ($5/$3). The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s founding figures including Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital Underground — while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Ninja Tune, and more.

At 2 p.m., you can learn how to be a hip-hop artist for yourself, with Jesse Menendez, host of Vocalo’s Music Vox, for a live presentation on the art of sampling. Stefan Ponce will give a live tutorial on how to mash up sounds to make a remix.

You can enter your own beat in the Vocalo MashUp Contest and Young Chicago Authors’ Open Mic Academy,opens  at 2 p.m. Read all about it via The 3rd Annual Winter Block Party for Chicago’s Hip-Hop Arts | WBEZ.