Hip hop receives stellar representation at the Kennedy Centre in the form of hip hop star Q-Tip as its first artistic director.
I’d like to think Kennedy Center President Deborah Rutter was listening to Q-Tip’s Johnny Is Dead when she made the decision to induct the New York rapping legend as their first director of hip hop. The arts center is commemorating the 100th anniversary of JFK’s birth and Rutter announced the events for a year-long festival in celebration. The likes of Yo-Yo Ma and Terence Blanchard are on board to offer their artistic services, but the hip hop programs will be overseen by Q-Tip, as the center’s first artistic director of hip hop culture. Alongside the J Dilla exhibit at the African American History Museum, it’s fantastic to see such exposure for hip hop culture.
(via The Washington Post)