Lincoln Hip-Hop Battle

With his father Gabor, the distinguished historian, Jake Boritt, a young filmmaker and graduate of Johns Hopkins, recently visited the staff of the ALBC.  He has an exciting idea that potentially could involve youth in the Lincoln Bicentennial in a novel way. 

I am hopeful that readers will find the idea intriguing and that someone will step forward with the funds to make it all happen.

Let him tell you about this.

From Jake: 

How do we get thousands of inner-city kids to study the words of Abraham Lincoln?

Hip-Hop.

HIP-HOP: LINCOLN
Abraham Lincoln is acknowledged as a master of words: a leader who elevated politics to poetry and thereby transformed America. Lincoln’s words have spread around the world.  Hip-Hop artists have transformed words and beats into art.  Modern youth culture has spread it around the world.

The Lincoln Hip-Hop Battle is a web-based competition intended to encourage urban youth to learn about Abraham Lincoln.  The premise is simple: a contest offers prize money to the best recorded hip-hop tracks that incorporate the words, history and meaning of Abraham Lincoln. 

A new younger generation now is passionately caught up in presidential politics.  Youth, especially in urban communities, are especially motivated. The Lincoln Hip-Hop Battle will embrace this modern political awareness and focus attention on the strongest pillar of American democracy: Abraham Lincoln.

New media technologies will be central to the Lincoln Hip-Hop Battle. The contest will be run via the website www.LincolnHipHop.net.  The website will offer easy access to Lincoln’s writings, history, and ideas.  It will encourage contestants to explore the life and work of Lincoln.  The site will also make available audio files that can be sampled in recordings including music from Lincoln’s era, sound FX, and recordings from the Library of Congress such as Voices from the Days of Slavery. Latino youth will also be encouraged to participate with Spanish language links.

The contest will be judged by celebrities in the hip-hop world and Lincoln experts. We have asked Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL) to help us recruit leading stars. Contestants will upload the tracks to the internet.  A registered web audience will vote online. Audience voting will encourage participants to talk-up the site among friends - spreading the word - getting people to vote for tracks. Outreach and use in schools will be encouraged.

Four-score and seven (87) tracks will be selected and presented to the judging panel. Criteria will include quality of the beats, lyrics, Lincoln content, and uniqueness.  The judges will select first, second and third place winners.  The top 12 tracks may be included on an album for download via iTunes and sale as a CD.  The contest will run for 4 months starting in November 2008 and conclude in February 2009: both black history month and the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln’s birth.  The winner will be announced on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during the ALBC’s rededication of the Lincoln Memorial an April 12, 2009.

Companion myspace.com/HipHopLincoln, YouTube channel and a Facebook site will help promote and expand the reach of the project via viral marketing and social networking.  Marketing to the young urban demographic will be crucial to the success of the contest.  Traditional media outlets such as BET network, Vibe, and The Source magazine will reach the community.  Underground marketing will also be important.  

Contestants will be encouraged to upload short videos to YouTube in which they describe their methods and motivation for making their tracks.  A community section will encourage comment on the uploaded tracks  - furthering discussions of Lincoln and hip-hop in the urban youth community.  Teachers will be encouraged via downloadable tools to use the contest as a way of motivating students to study Lincoln.  A companion documentary could be produced chronicling the contest and the stories of contestants.

If this idea interests you, please contact Jake Boritt.  Perhaps you can contribute your expertise as a webmaster or you know Chuck D or Stevie Wonder. Perhaps you would like to make a contribution toward the prize money.

I know that the bicentennial will be a great success, but by any measure we must redouble our efforts to excite and engage our youth. Lincoln would expect no less from us. 

I look forward to hearing from you about this or other ideas for attracting youth.      

Posted by David Early at 05/20/2008 02:16:25 PM |