For more than 150 years The Brooklyn Academy of Music has operated as a multi-dimensional center of arts in Brooklyn, New York. BAM showcases and highlights the work of both emerging artists and innovative modern masters from both global and local communities in the fields of dance, film, theater, music and much more.
SOURCE360 is fast approaching–we’re just over 3 weeks away from the official kick-off date of Sept. 19th–and BAM: Brooklyn Academy Of Music has announced their partnership with us for what will surely be an epic weekend in Brooklyn’s Cultural District.
In a series of film and music events that will help us in “celebrating the 25th anniversary of the pioneering hip-hop magazine”, one of BAM’s staple live performance events, BAMcafe Live will be incorporating #SOURCE360 programming with Pass The Mic: Ladies First – A Night Of Women Emcees with performances from some of the most talented female emcees the culture has to offer: Nitty Scott, Rajé Shwari, Roxanne Shanté, and Sweet Tee. Not to mention International Hip-Hop Night, which will feature a bevy of hip-hop showcases focused on showing off just how worldwide a culture hip-hop has become, with performances from Amkoullel, Gokh BiSystem, Rebel Diaz, Shokanti, AYoinmotion, and Bocafloja.
On the film side of things, BAMcinematek will be showing some of the most iconic hip-hop films in the business in the #SOURCE360 Film Festival, from present-day instant classics to timeless big-screen adaptations of the culture. Screenings include Notorious, which is based on the true story of Biggie Smalls’ life and the Brooklyn debut of Time Is Illmatic in celebration of the 20th anniversary of Nas’ landscape shifting debut album, Illmatic. Also being screened is Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, a legendary film but also an instrumental one. This film showcased some of the great neo-soul and hip-hop acts of the day, such as Kanye West, Erykah Badu and The Roots, and Dave Chappelle’s Block Party is where Lauryn Hill reunited The Fugees for one of the final times. The Wu-Tang Clan’s The RZA and the director of Time Is Illmatic, One9, will be making special guest appearances.
Please read the full press release, including all details of BAM’s partnership with #SOURCE360, below.
The Source and BAM present music and film events as part of The
SOURCE360, Sep 19 & 20
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of the pioneering hip-hop magazine
Free BAMcafé Live performances include Pass the Mic: Ladies First—A Night of Women
Emcees, featuring Nitty Scott, Rajé Shwari, Roxanne Shanté, and Sweet Tee (Sep 19) &
International Hip-Hop Night hosted by Toni Blackman and featuring Amkoullel, Gokh Bi
System, Rebel Diaz, Shokanti, AYoinmotion, and Bocafloja (Sep 20)
BAMcinématek screenings include Notorious, Time is Illmatic, The Man with the Iron
Fists, Rhyme & Reason, and Dave Chappelle’s Block Party, with special appearances by
RZA and One9
Brooklyn, NY/Aug 28, 2014—The Source has kept its finger on the pulse of urban music, lifestyle, and
culture for the past 25 years. In September, America’s oldest and most venerable hip-hop publication
celebrates its anniversary with The SOURCE360, a weekend of events at venues throughout
Downtown Brooklyn—featuring a conference, marketplace, concerts, and festivals—that reflect on the
rich history of a now-global, four-decade-old art form. The Source and BAMcafé bring together some of
today’s most influential and diverse emcees, with two nights of free performances: Pass the Mic: Ladies
First—A Night of Women Emcees (Sep 19) and International Hip-Hop Night (Sep 20). BAMcinématek
and The Source present a film series that highlights a wide range of influences and milestones within
hip-hop culture, including big-screen appearances by some of the music’s most iconic performers.
“We are thrilled to be partnering with BAM for this celebration of culture, music, and art,” said L. Londell
McMillan, chairman of North Star Media Group, the producers of The SOURCE360 celebration. “BAM
has long been the home for some of the world’s most adventurous artists, and has embraced hip-hop
over the years through its film, dance, and music programming. BAMcinématek has a rich history of
presenting films from a wide range of eras, cultures, and movements, and we’re proud to be co-
presenting this lineup of classic hip-hop films with them. The stunning BAMcafé is an idyllic venue for
the festival’s free live music events, featuring hip-hop artists from Brooklyn and beyond. I can’t imagine
hosting such a momentous cultural event in Downtown Brooklyn without BAM!”
For information and updates visit BAM.org or thesource360.com.
Press information:
For BAMcafé Live, contact Lauren Morrow at 718.636.4129 x1 / lmorrow@BAM.org
For BAMcinématek, contact Lisa Thomas at 718.724.8023 / lthomas@BAM.org or Hannah
Thomas at 718.724.8002 / hthomas@bam.org
BAMcafé Live schedule
Fri, Sep 19 at 10pm
Pass the Mic: Ladies First—A Night of Women Emcees
Featuring Nitty Scott, Rajé Shwari, Roxanne Shanté, and Sweet Tee
Sat, Sep 20 at 10pm
International Hip-Hop Night
Hosted by Toni Blackman and featuring Amkoullel, Gokh Bi System, Rebel Diaz, Shokanti,
AYoinmotion, and Bocafloja
BAMcinématek schedule
Fri, Sep 19
6:45pm: Notorious*
10pm: Time is Illmatic**
Sat, Sep 20
4:30pm: The Man with the Iron Fists* **
7:15pm: Rhyme & Reason
9:45pm: Dave Chappelle’s Block Party
*Q&A with actor Antonique Smith
**Intro by director One9 and writer/producer Erik Parker
***Q&A with RZA
BAMcafé Live events
Pass the Mic: Ladies First—A Night of Women Emcees, featuring Nitty Scott, Raje Shwari,
Roxanne Shante, and Sweet Tee
On September 19, The Source and BAMcafé Live celebrate some of the hottest women in the game
with Pass the Mic: A Night of Women Emcees. The lineup includes Brooklyn’s Nitty Scott, who has
performed at the BET Awards and Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, and has collaborated with artists
including Kendrick Lamar and Estelle; Philadelphia-born singer Rajé Shwari (aka the Queen of
BollyHood), who has been featured in hit songs including Timbaland’s single “Indian Flute” and on Jay-
Z’s “The Bounce” from The Blueprint 2; Queensbridge rapper Roxanne Shanté, whose hit single
“Roxanne’s Revenge” was ranked number 42 on VH1’s list of “100 Greatest Hip Hop Songs”; and
Sweet Tee, one of the pioneering women of hip-hop, whose hits include “I Got Da Feeling,” “It’s Like
That Y’all,” and “On the Smooth Tip.”
Fri, Sep 19 at 10pm in BAMcafé (30 Lafayette Ave)
International Hip-Hop Night, hosted by Toni Blackman and featuring Amkoullel, Gokh Bi
System, Rebel Diaz, Shokanti, AYoinmotion and Bocafloja
BAMcafé Live and The Source go global on September 20 with International Hip-Hop night, featuring
emcees from around the world spitting lyrics and freestyles in Bambara, French, Wolof, Spanish,
Portugese, English, and more. Hosted by Toni Blackman (US), the Department of State’s first Hip-Hop
Cultural Envoy, the event features Amkoullel (Mali), who was last at BAM with Mic Check in 2013, and
has performed with artists including Ali Farka Touré, Toumani Diabaté, and Rokia Traoré; Gokh Bi
System (Senegal), a conscious hip-hop trio that has played major festivals around the world, including
Celebrate Brooklyn and Montreal Jazz Festival; political duo Rebel Diaz (Chile), who toured the US,
Latin America, and Europe, and dropped its debut album, The Radical Dilemma, in 2013; Shokanti
(Cape Verde), who fuses hip-hop and reggae with the rhythms of his native island, and was the first
hip-hop artist ever to perform for the Prime Minister of Cape Verde at the Government Palace.
AYoinmotion (Nigeria) plays with his own live band, and has performed at SOB’s, the Apollo Theater,
and a number of major universities; and political rapper and poet Bocafloja (Mexico), who has released
six full-length albums and is one of the most revered icons on the Mexican hip-hop scene.
Sat, Sep 20 at 10pm in BAMcafé (30 Lafayette Ave)
Film Descriptions
Dave Chappelle’s Block Party (2005) 103min
Directed by Michel Gondry.
This exuberant concert documentary captures the ultimate hip-hop block party organized by Dave
Chappelle on a Clinton Hill street corner in 2004. Director Michel Gondry’s endlessly roving camera
takes in the sights and sounds, capturing performances by Kanye West, Mos Def, The Roots, The
Fugees (reunited for their first performance in years), and more, with Chappelle’s singular stand-up
routines interspersed throughout.
Sat, Sep 20 at 9:45pm
The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) 95min
Directed by RZA. With RZA, Russell Crowe, Lucy Liu.
Wu-Tang Clan visionary and kung fu fanatic RZA—recently named by The Source as one of hip-hop’s
top 20 greatest producers—directs and stars in this exhilarating, blood-spattered homage to the martial
arts movie’s golden age, in which a weapons-forging blacksmith (RZA) joins forces with an opium-
smoking British soldier (Crowe) amidst feudal warfare in 19th-century China. The wisecracks and body
parts fly fast and furious in this giddy, Quentin Tarantino-produced thrill ride.
Sat, Sep 20 at 4:30pm / Q&A with RZA
Notorious (2009) 123min
Directed by George Tillman, Jr. With Jamal Woolard, Angela Bassett, Derek Luke, Anthony Mackie.
In 1992, The Source featured an up-and-coming M.C. known as the Notorious B.I.G. in its influential
“Unsigned Hype” column; by 1995 Biggie was gracing the cover of the magazine, and in 2002 the
publication named him the greatest rapper of all time. This warts-and-all biopic charts the hip-hop
legend’s roots selling drugs on the streets of Bed-Stuy to his meteoric rise as Puff Daddy’s protégée to
his still-unsolved murder at the age of 24.
Fri, Sep 19 at 6:45pm
Rhyme & Reason (1997) 94min
Directed by Peter Spirer.
Featuring interviews with over 80 artists—including Tupac, Busta Ryhmes, Chuck D, Dr. Dre, the Wu-
Tang Clan, and Lauryn Hill—this comprehensive documentary charts the history of rap, from its origins
in the mid-70s Bronx, to the rise of West Coast gangsta rap, to its emergence as a multi-billion dollar
industry, while tackling controversial issues like sexism, violence, and the commercialization of hip-hop
culture.
Sat, Sep 20 at 7:15pm
Time is Illmatic (2014) 74min
Directed by One9.
This vivid documentary portrait of rap visionary Nas chronicles his childhood in the Queensbridge
housing projects, the rap battles and rivalries of the New York City hip-hop scene, and the obstacles
the trailblazing emcee overcame to record his landmark 1994 album Illmatic (one of only a handful of
records to receive a perfect “five mics” rating from The Source). Expertly directed by multimedia artist
One9, Time is Illmatic forgoes hyped-up mythologizing for an authentic record of a seminal time and
place.
Fri, Sep 19 at 10pm / Intro by One9 and writer/producer Erik Parker
Credits
Viacom is the BAM 2014 Music Sponsor. The Wall Street Journal is the title sponsor of BAM Rose Cinemas and
BAMcinématek.
Pepsi is the Official Beverage of BAM.
Con Edison is the BAMcafe Live sponsor.
BAMcafé Live receives endowment support from the BAM Fund To Support Emerging and Local Musicians,
created in part with a major gift from The Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust. Programming in BAM Lepercq
Space is supported by The Lepercq Charitable Foundation.Brooklyn Brewery is the preferred beer of
BAMcinématek. BAM Rose Cinemas are named in recognition of a major gift in honor of Jonathan F.P. and Diana
Calthorpe Rose.
BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation,
The Estate of Richard B. Fisher, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York
City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Bloomberg, and
Time Warner Inc. Additional support for BAMcinématek is provided by the Coolidge Corner Theatre Foundation,
The Grodzins Fund, The Liman Foundation, the Frederick Loewe Foundation, and Summit Rock Advisors.
General Information
BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp
building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of
Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between
Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at
321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space
and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent
and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a bar menu and
dinner entrées prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an
eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a drink and small
plate menu available starting at 6pm.
Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater)
Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center
Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM
Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM
For ticket information, call BAM Ticket Services at 718.636.4100, or visit BAM.org.
D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue
