This year’s AllHipHop.com Social Lounge will provide the setting for a diverse roster of viewpoints as rappers and activist gather for a night of discussion.
The sixth annual event, which takes place at 7:30 pm Saturday (Oct. 17) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on One Center Street, Newark, NJ, will feature panelists such as Wu-Tang Clan’s Raekwon in addition to underground rap fixture Immortal Technique and Atlanta-based rhymesayer Mike Bigga (formerly known as Killer Mike).
Topics discussed include Hip-Hop, president Barack Obama and politics, race, generational gaps, the economy and the Internet.
The Social Lounge comes amid an interesting time as the country is currently embroiled in financial hardships and consistent unemployment from the state of the economy as well as intense debate over health care and the handling of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The topic of race has become a hot button since the election of Barack Obama, the first African American U.S. president.
Despite his popularity, the president has been criticized over the past few months for his health care plan as well as what many view to be efforts to take on too much, too soon since becoming Commander in Chief.
In addition, Obama woke up Friday (Oct. 9) to news he won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize.
Hosted and moderated by AllHipHop co-founder and CEO Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur, the Social Lounge will feature additional panelists such as rapper Saigon and activists Ras Baraka and Rosa Clemente.
A Q & A session will be held during the offline forum, which is set up to challenge Hip-Hop community leaders and artists with issues on how to incite and motivate change for the music, culture and the community.
Questions from guests will be taken through Twitter submission via www.twitter.com/allhiphopcom.
For Creekmur, the Social Lounge represents a worthwhile effort to learn more about issues affecting the Hip-Hop community while building bridges.
“The AllHipHop.com Social Lounge has been around for several years and this is the second time we have done the event with NJPAC in Newark, New Jersey. It has been a pleasure serving the community in this way and we hope to bring more events like this to the area,” he said in a statement, “This is our 11th year as a company and business and the Social Lounge has been with us about half of the time. It is definitely one of our most important events.”
Closing the Social Lounge will be a special performance from Blitz the Ambassador.
Tickets for the event are $16 and available for purchase at http://www.njpac.org/show_events_list.asp?shcode=15377.
For more details on the AllHipHop.com Social Lounge, visit www.allhiphop.com, www.twitter.com/allhiphopcom.
