The Sol Power Hip Hop Festival started in 2000. Back then, it was called Civil Disobedience.
From there, its name has changed to Urban Soul and then to Sol Power. Even through all of the name changes, the mission has remained the same — to celebrate the art of hip-hop.
On Nov. 2, this celebration peaked as people came together at the Nelson Fine Arts Center to dance and compete in 3v3 freestyle dance battles. The competition also featured other art in the forms of graffiti and music, offering an immersive hip-hop experience for people of all ages.
According to LaTasha Barnes, an associate professor at the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, the main goal is to celebrate hip-hop arts by increasing awareness among ASU students and the local community. She aims to highlight not only the elements of hip-hop, but also how they thrive on campus, in the greater Phoenix area and when possible, on a global scale.
Although it was a highly competitive environment with uniquely qualified judges, everyone was welcomed with a smile and a hug. Before the competition began, the stage was open to anyone — students, judges and those who put the event together — to dance and enjoy themselves.
“I can sense that you all have a strong sense of community, and I appreciate that,” Leandre Douglas, a judge for the competition, said about the competitors.
Groups were unaware of who their opponent would be in the dance battles until just before jumping onto the stage for the 25-second rounds. Despite this daunting setup, performers competed with a sportsmanlike spirit.
“(The competition) throws you into the deep end, basically,” said Abigail Conover, a freshman studying dance. “It’s really nerve-wracking. It makes me really anxious. But I feel like it’s a good learning experience.”
Through this experience, first-year students are able to get a taste for hip-hop culture and implement the things they have learned in class. This was a required event for the students taking professor Barnes’ class, but many students took measures to go beyond what was necessary by participating.
Participants were decked out in fashion ranging from matching jumpsuits to shiny, sequined sleeves. Douglas also dressed to the spirit of the event, with a shirt from an Oakland record company featuring jazz artist Doug Carn.
“It’s also important to tie what the students are studying here, to the curriculum that we have, right?” said Jorge Magana, a clinical associate professor at the School of Music, Dance and Theatre, who has planned Sol Power for several years. “We are trailblazing in this lane with hip-hop and the dance and the culture.”
According to Barnes, this is an event that has been acclaimed across the country.
“We have people from all over the Valley, as far as Tucson. We have people from Chicago and Texas, here today,” Magana said. “This is something that everybody looks forward to every single year with open arms.”
The DJ for the event was handpicked by the event’s organizers, Magana and Barnes, based on what inspired them. The work of students, professors, hosts and all the featured artists brought Sol Power together and culminated into an event that people look forward to each year.
“We may be professors and may be doing this work through ASU, but that is because we are adhering to what the culture needs first and making that a part of the curriculum,” Barnes said.
Edited by Andrew Dirst, Abigail Beck, Tiya Talwar and Alexis Heichman.
Reach the reporter at ktale@asu.edu and follow @KasturiTale on X.
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Kasturi TaleThe Echo Reporter
Kasturi is a sophomore studying journalism. This is her second semester with The State Press. She has her own blog and has worked in creative writing.
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