(AllHipHop News) Brothers Cornel and Clifton West will be in Atlanta this Sunday (January 17) to host Sweet Tea Ethics, an event aimed at exploring the concepts of manhood, black love, mending generation conflicts, and the transformative power of Hip-Hop.
The dialogue hopes to challenge the black community to look critically at why there is deep division between elders and the Hip-Hop community, and why many hold a “clichéd view” leadership and formal education.
The free event was organized by producer and award-winning journalist, counselor and producer Edward M. Garnes, Jr who will also serve as moderator.
Garnes is the founder of From Afros To Shelltoes, a community program focused on using the arts to “bridge generation gaps between youth, elders, and Hip-Hop heads.”
Clifton West has been a mentor to Garnes, and co-founded BMWMB (Black Men Who Mean Business) with Mike Dailey to give the musical backbone to his brother Cornel’s Hip-Hop albums.
“The event is all about brothers sharing a journey of courage, testament of faith, renaissance of hope and a message of love; unduly granted by a lifetime of grace,” Clifton West told AllHiphop.com. “We are excited about our collaboration with From Afros To Shelltoes.”
Phonte of Little Brother/Foreign Exchange praised Garnes’ community efforts, framing them as a voice for late 20s Hip-Hop fans who are starting to feel displaced in the culture.
“There is no movement that epitomizes the thoughts, dreams, and disillusionment of my generation better than From Afros to Shelltoes (F.A.T.S). For every young Black person that’s closer to 30 than 25, too grown for 106 & Park, but still too young for the Tom Joyner crowd, F.A.T.S is our leading voice,” Phonte stated. “With their exciting mix of wit, insight, and just plain old ‘real talk,’ F.A.T.S gives voice to a generation that wants to build on the future, while learning from the mistakes of the past. If my kids are reading about From Afros to Shelltoes in their history books in 20 years, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Stic.man of Dead Prez has worked with Garnes, and lauded his ability to symbolically unite past traditions with today’s climate.
“Sweet Tea Ethics is as culturally profound as the Japanese tea ceremonies because it goes back to traditions of how we were raised in the south,” he explained. “Ed Garnes’ writing, teaching, and community work with From Afros To Shelltoes is very relevant, very Hip-Hop, and a very important bridge from our past to today’s sensibilities. His brilliance is committed to the values of our people in the most warm and accessible manner.”
Sweet Tea Ethics will be this Sunday (January 17) at Camp Creek Market Place’s Barnes and Nobles, located at 3685 Market Place Boulevard in East Point, GA.
The event is free and commences at 5PM.