2008 Woodie Awards
Urban Culture
Black Action Society holds second annual Hip-Hop Week
By Dara Salley
Issue date: 4/15/05 Section: Life
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One of the first things you notice about a person is how they dress. Fashion is one way of telling people a little bit about yourself without ever speaking. One culture whose fashions speak the loudest is the hip-hop culture.
"We wanted to showcase hip-hop and urban style," said Tasha Ricketts, one of the coordinators of the show. "There is a fashion show during Unity Week, but those are more multi-national styles. We wanted to bring more of an urban style for Hip-Hop Week."
The show featured business, sleepwear and summer wear. There was also dancing and a tribute to fallen Hip-Hop stars.
"I came by because I have friends in the show. The show was wonderful, especially the host," freshman Anita Freeman said.
The show was hosted by LaTreece Hilly, the "sexiest big girl on campus." The audience erupted in cheers when she came out on stage in a sheer kimono over a black bra and underwear. Her message was one of acceptance for all body types.
"Just like skinny girls, big girls look good too. If not better!" Hilly said.
The show was coordinated by Jewell Motley, who is in charge of public relations for BAS, and LaShae Jeffers, the current social programmer for BAS. The show was well choreographed and ran smoothly due to planning.
"We spent about two weeks rehearsing," Motley said. "Last week we had rehearsals every day of the week."
The styles for the show all came straight out of the girls' own closets.
"We tried writing letters to different stores to see if they wanted to supply us with the fashions, but in the end we had to supply the clothes ourselves," Jeffers said.
If you missed it and want to know what the hottest styles are, here is a little taste of what was shown in the fashion show:
First was the business look. The girls wore fitted pant suits in black or pastels with high-heeled shoes. For guys, the fashion was a standard suit with some personal touches of jewelry. All were complemented by a cell phone glued to the ear, of course.
Next was sleepwear. Silky satin pant suits, tight fitting tunics and slip-dresses were modeled by the women. The guys kept it casual in tank tops, sweats and Homer Simpson slippers (girls just can't resist them).
After the sleepwear came a fashion labeled by the organizers as "In Da Club." This was the time to stand out as if you wanted to be let through the velvet ropes into a hot nightclub. The guys were wearing collared polo shirts and jeans tucked into boots. Girls wore clothes with sequins or glitter to sparkle under the lights. Tight-fitting capris, tube tops and short skirts seemed to rule. As one member of the audience yelled out, "You can't wear that to work!"
Finally was summer wear. Summer clothes are certainly sexy, but the most important thing is that they be comfortable. The guys were wearing sports jerseys and shorts. The girls kept it simple in jean skirts, halter-tops and capris in bright tropical colors. Also, they demonstrated that a good way to dress up and be comfortable is to wear skirts and tube tops in sweat material.
The show wasn't just about fashion, though. There was a tribute section with a photo montage which honored hip-hop heroes like Tupac, Biggie, Aaliyah , Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez, Jam Master Jay and Ray Charles.
There was also dancing by the Step Team, which is a part of BAS. They focus on a hip-hop style of dance. The Step Team did a tribute dance to Aaliyah. Also included in the tribute was support for the soldiers in Iraq.
"If you have any friends or family members over in Iraq, pray for them and support them," Hilly said.
What made the fashion show really come alive was the enthusiasm and encouragement of the audience. The audience yelled support for their friends and bantered back and forth with Hilly. There were dramatic lighting effects where the lights flashed on and off to highlight different outfits. The models walked down the runway to mixes of hip-hop music.
"I thought the show was really amazing," Tiffani Fisher said. "It was nice to see such positive support. There was no negativity from the audience."
Also for Hip-Hop Week the Black Action Societ invited Mike Slack and Jamie Cumeerled from "The Art Spot," an art company located in Pittsburgh, to airbrush T-shirts in the University Union from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
"As a member of BAS I came down to support the event, and to get a free T-shirt of course," said LeShay Robinson, social programmer of BAS.
Students could have anything painted on their shirts by filling out a card with a sketch of what they desired. Most students wanted text on their shirts, such as names of friends, sororities or clubs.
"I'm Greek and I think I should support all the organizations at school," said Liz Rodgers, a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Education major. "I would like to do airbrushing for a living. It looks easy and you can make lots of money."
Airbrush artists have been popular at other campus events, including in past Hip-Hop weeks. Slack said he enjoys his art form, as it provides him a way to make money.
"It took me a couple of months to learn the equipment. Then I spent a year training with a teacher who had been doing airbrush art for 13 years," Slack said. "I mostly do it as a way to make money through art."
The event was free to students and was funded by the Student Government Association (SGA).
"It's our job to bring something the students want to the campus," Sherilyn Land, the vice president of BAS, said. "The airbrush artists are in demand and popular so we asked them to come back for Hip-Hop week."
If you want to get involved with Hip-Hop Week you still can. On Saturday Crime Mob will be playing in the MPR from 10 p.m. until 2 a.m., hosted by a DJ from WAMO.
