Detroit gets its first Women in Hip-Hop concert and conference

The Foundation of Women in Hip-Hop will launch Detroit's first Women in Hip Hop Conference from June 16-19, inside The Allied Media Conference at Wayne State University. The conference is an initiative that will give artists, activists, and academics the opportunity to have an intimate, interactive experience with technology, art, music, social justice and community.

There's an attendant women in hip-hop concert at 7 p.m. on June 17 at the Garden Theater; tickets for that can be purchased here. To register for the conference, go right here. Those who register for the conference will receive full access to the Allied Media Conference and be entered to win tickets to the concert.

“We will stage new conversations using media to address the role, images, and treatment of women in hip-hop," says Piper Carter, the foundation's founder."We will critique and disrupt status quo narratives and present investigations about value systems and structures of violence and human value, the politics of aesthetics, and women of color." Piper has been on the frontlines supporting social change through hip-hop for the last several years. She recently organized “Dilla Youth Day” and played an intricate role in “HipHop4Flint.”

The three-day event is happening thanks in part to support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. It will include a cipher, B-girl dance battle, film screening, workshops, and panel discussions. The conference will also feature a concert showcasing the next generation of women in hip-hop.

The concert itself includes performances by:

• Rapsody (headliner) — international artist who recently won a Grammy for her collaboration with Kendrick Lamar on the song “Complexion (Zulu Love).”

• Mama Sol & The N.U.T.Z. — Flint, Mich. based hip-hop/neo-soul band committed to breaking the Self-Destructive cycle of mainstream Hip-Hop. Their vision is for a world prioritizing education, responsibility, and art. The band features a collective of four musicians, background vocalist, lead MC, and a disc jockey.

• Mahogany Jones — Detroit-based artist most noted for her appearance on BET's 106 & Park Freestyle Fridays, she is also known around the world as a hip-hop ambassador, having served with American Music Abroad and other programs under the United States Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.