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W I N S TO N - S A L E M , N . C .
Volume 48, Number 26
THURSDAY, March 3, 2022
Chronicle’s Black History Cypher taps into local hip-hop talent
BY TEVIN STINSON THE CHRONICLE
While it may be exported and recreated across the world, no art form is more rooted in the Black culture than hip-hop. And for the second year in a row, to celebrate hip-hop and Black History Month, The Chronicle has given local artists the opportunity to showcase their talents with the Black History Cypher. This year artist Marl3yWrld Marko, Banks, Fresco From34, Terrell From Yonkers, OffSkrentch AC, and Big D-Money got their chance at the the beat provided by Grammy awardwinning producer 9th Wonder, who is a graduate of Glenn High School. The idea for the cypher came from marketing director Shayna Smith and office manager Deanna Taylor. Smith said she saw young poets from the local nonprofit Authoring Action perform and the next day she showed Taylor clips of the performance and talked about how she wanted to do something similar. “I showed her a few clips and she said what about a cypher … then we came up with the details and then it just took off,” Smith said. People across the country viewed and shared the first cypher in 2021, and the 2022 edition already has more than 2,000 views on Facebook. The cyphers are curated by local videographer and graphic designer Gregg Penn. Penn said with the first cypher, which featured Ricky Ruckus, Chris Lewis, Cali Madrid, 14K Numbers, Young Dirt, Piiiiipe Extras, and
Photos by Alphonso Abbott Jr.
For the second year in a row The Chronicle has invited local recording artists to show their skills with the Black History Cypher. Royal P, he wanted to bring in MCs, wordsmiths that represent the style that hip-hop is built on. This year, Penn said he wanted to highlight younger artists and the style that dominates hip-hop airwaves today. “Last year I wanted MCs and this year I wanted to bring in a younger crowd because they take a different approach and have a different perspective on things,”
Penn said. In the sport of hip-hop, especially in a cypher, it can get very competitive, but Penn said he tells all the artists that this cypher isn’t about that. “I let everybody know that it’s not a competition; more than anything, this is about coming together. “This is about coming together and doing something positive.”
Calls from artists asking how they can be a part of the 2023 Black History Cypher have been coming in since the video was posted on YouTube last week, and Penn said he is already planning. “I might hop on there myself next year,” Penn laughed jokingly. He said in the future he wants to highlight more female artists. Penn also mentioned the possibility of getting 9th Wonder
to join the cypher. “I definitely want to bring in more female artists and I know I want to continue to highlight younger artists because I want the younger crowd to have something to do and look forward to,” Penn continued. “It would be cool to have 9th Wonder, but that has to be something big … maybe year five.”
Piedmont Opera partners with Jackie Alexander on production of Broadway musical ‘Ragtime’ THE CHRONICLE
The Piedmont Opera has partnered with Jackie Alexander, artistic director of the NC Black Repertory Company (NCBRC) to create an all-new production of the Tony Awardwinning Broadway musical, Ragtime, which looks to capture the American experience of three different people from very different backgrounds. Based on the novel of the same name by E.L. Doctrow, the musical tells the story of three families trying to find their way during the turn of the twentieth century in New York City. Each family is struggling with the changing cultural climate in America and is facing the promise of hope and new beginnings in the midst of prejudice and bigotry. A stifled upper-class wife, a determined Jewish immigrant, and a daring young Harlem musician are each
united by their courage, compassion, and belief in the promise of the future. Together, they confront history’s timeless contradictions of wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, hope and despair ... and what it means to live in America. Alexander, who has served as artistic director of the NCBRC and producer of the National Black Theatre Festival
since 2016, said when he got the call from Piedmont Opera, he was excited to lead the production. He said although the play is set in 1906, many of the issues addressed in the play are still relevant today. “It’s a great show. It’s a massive show. There’s about 60 people in the cast, but the big thing about this show is how relevant the issues are that they deal with in the play,” he said.
“It deals with racism, quality of life for immigrants, police brutality, the world’s obsession with celebrities, women’s rights. If you turn on the news, those are the things that are being discussed every single day and this story is set over 100 years ago. That’s what really attracted me to the piece.” Alexander said he has been working on developing the show for a few
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months and the cast got together for the first time last week. He said while it is challenging working with such a large cast in the middle of a pandemic, this is what people need. “It’s a challenging piece, but it’s a beautiful piece and it’s the right piece to do right now. Art should speak to what’s going on in society and I can’t think of a better piece that speaks to what’s going on today,” Alexander said. In a press release, James Albritten, general director of the Piedmont Opera, said, “Ragtime is the story we need to tell at this point in our nation’s history and is easily one of the most powerful shows ever written for the stage.” The Piedmont Opera’s production of Ragtime will be staged March 18 at 8 p.m., March 20 at 2 p.m., and March 22 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale and prices range from $22$98. Visit PiedmontOpera. org for more information. 6 89076 32439 7
BY TEVIN STINSON