Friday Nights at OMCA: A Celebration of Hip Hop Culture

For the month of August, all four Friday Nights at OMCA honor, celebrate, and explore the 50^th anniversary of Hip Hop culture and are curated by Bay Area artist and DJ Jahi, who has lived in Oakland for the last 23 years. This marks the first time OMCA will have a practitioner of Hip Hop culture curating its Friday Nights lineup. Each program takes a deep dive into the many facets, history, relevance, and joy of Hip Hop culture, right at home in Oakland! In addition to this special, celebratory programming, there will be plenty of signature Friday Nights features, including two streets packed with Off the Grid food trucks and the OMCA campus alive with music, dancing, OMCA’s award-winning galleries of art, history, and science and more!

Program for August 11

Kicking off an evening marking the 50^th anniversary of Hip Hop, Jahi, an international artist based in Oakland, spins an all-vinyl set of classic Hip Hop, breakbeats, Reggae, and African rhythms. Join 55 Bay Area Hip Hop artists, activists, and educators from the Hip Hop community as they are inducted into the Bay Area Hip Hop Archives in a public ceremony celebrating this historic moment. Inductees include Boots Riley, Digital Underground, Ericka Huggins, Conscious Daughters, Brett Cook, DJ CJ Flash, and Medea Sirkas, to name a few. Young stock-car racing star Cameron “Cam-Man” Carraway welcomes you for a meet-greet and photo opp with him and his car. Telice Summerfield leads a Turf Dance class unlocking the keys to Oakland’s own dance style. Continuous screenings of KQED’s award-winning If Cities Could Dance films will be on view, and legendary DJ Davey D will keep the energy and spirits high in celebration of Hip Hop’s 50^th birthday.

Program schedule

5-7 pm               Jahi spins an all-vinyl set with guests DJ True Justice & DJ Black, Amphitheater

5-7 pm               Cameron “Cam-Man” Carraway meet & greet and photo opp, Oak Street

6-7 pm               Turfin’ with Telice Turf Dance Class, Oak Street Plaza

6-7 pm               If Cities Could Dance film screenings, James Moore Theater

6-7 pm               DJ Davey D, Garden

7-8:30 pm       The Bay Area Hip Hop Archives Induction Ceremony—A Celebration of Hip Hop Culture, Garden

8:30-8:45 pm    Great Day in Hip Hop Photo, Garden

About the performers

The Bay Area Hip Hop Archives is a repository for Bay Area Hip Hop artists, activists, educators, and culture keepers who have made a 20 year or more significant contribution to the community and world via Hip Hop culture. Participants will create their own “special collections” that will chronicle their life experiences for future generations.

Cameron (Cam-Man) Carraway is a 12-year-old Stock Car and Micro Sprint race car driver from the Bay Area. Cam has been racing since he was six years old and is the only African American driver that races competitively on dirt and asphalt and hip hop has been an inspiration for his driving.

Davey D is a nationally recognized journalist, adjunct professor, Hip Hop historian, syndicated talk show host, radio programmer, producer, deejay, media, and community activist. Originally from the Bronx, NY, Davey D’s been down with Hip Hop since 1977 when he started out as an emcee for two crews, TDK [Total Def Krew] out of Co-op City and the Avengers out of the Marble Hill Section of the Bronx. He moved to California and graduated from UC Berkeley.

Davey D is the co-founder and host of some of the most cited Hip Hop radio and online news journalism projects of all time. Hard Knock Radio (HKR) is an award-winning daily syndicated prime-time afternoon show focusing on Hip Hop culture and politics. One of the first of its kind, the show originated in 1999 on KPFA 94.1 FM in the San Francisco Bay Area, and now can be heard in Seattle, Atlanta, Portland, Fresno and is streamed live on KPFA.org, reaching close to a million listeners daily. In 2003, HKR was cited as the best on-air show by the East Bay Express, and Davey D was voted Best On-Air Personality.

Accessibility
Oakland Museum of California (OMCA) is committed to providing programs that are accessible, welcoming, and inclusive of our community. Wheelchairs, sensory inclusive devices, and additional amenities are available for checkout on a first come, first served basis at the Ticketing Desk. To request other accommodations, like American Sign Language (ASL), Cantonese, Spanish or another language interpreter, please email [email protected] at least three weeks before the event. Learn about our accessibility options.

About Friday Nights at OMCA with Off The Grid

Reconnect with family, friends, and community at OMCA every Friday night. These free events provide a gathering place to come together each week, including live music, hands-on activities, and Off the Grid food trucks. Take advantage of late-night access to our galleries and special exhibitions with a Museum ticket.

Friday Nights at OMCA with Off the Grid is proudly supported by Bank of America.