South Florida Book Festival Program 2023

MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Greetings,

As Director of Broward County Library, I’m excited to welcome you to one of our signature cultural and literary events, the South Florida Book Festival. It has been a major event series in our region since 2012, and a very proud tradition in our library’s story.

Every year we endeavor to bring the finest examples of panAfrican creativity to the community, presenting celebrity authors, performers and visual artists, together with respected thought leaders in contemporary Black culture. Our objective is to promote the work of brilliant exponents of African American arts and studies and expose the community to the finest work being done. In short, we want to bring revelation, illumination and enjoyment to our festival attendees.

The events that you are about to experience certainly fulfill those goals. This year’s theme, “WORD! Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop Culture,” explores the cultural explosion generated by the hip-hop phenomenon. We will delve into this exciting, vital topic through thrilling performances and the exchange of fascinating ideas. I can’t wait!

In addition to welcoming you, I’d like to give a nod of appreciation to the wonderful staff that planned and produced these events. I especially appreciate how inclusive our program is of all ages and interests, and how we have something for everyone…including cocktail sipping sophisticates, music lovers, scholars, and teens who want to DJ.

Thank you for joining us in 2023 and being at the center of “WORD!”

Allison Grubbs Broward County Library Director

MESSAGE FROM THE REGIONAL MANAGER

After many months of planning, it is our honor to present the 11th installment of the South Florida Book Festival to our community. “WORD! Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop Culture” is our unique way of observing this significant hallmark in our culture through literature as well as visual and performing arts. This is an extension of AARLCC’s mission to collect, preserve, and interpret the history and culture of people of African descent.

Spoken words and rhythm are the raw ingredients of the genre. Like the griots of West Africa, Black youth in the United States used the art of rhythmic recitation to create connection and culture. At its beginning, hip-hop gave young people from marginalized communities the opportunity to both describe and celebrate their lives. “Hip hop music is important,” Dr. Michael Eric Dyson reminds us, “precisely because it sheds light on contemporary politics, history, and race. At its best, hip hop gives voice to marginal black youth we are not used to hearing from on such topics.”

The genre has grown over the past five decades, taking on the regional flavor across the United States and taking its influence across the globe. From its humble beginnings, hip-hop has become a major economic and cultural force that has impacted art, fashion, literature, and language.

The 2023 South Florida Book Festival represents a tremendous collective effort. I am grateful to our planning committee, our sponsors and partners, and most especially, the staff at AARLCC, who worked diligently to make sure this year’s festival was successful.

It is my hope that this year’s book festival offers our attendees, regardless of age, an opportunity to deepen their understanding of hip-hop culture and to connect the creative expression it represents to the lineage of Black cultural expression that has come before it.

Tameka Hobbs Regional Manager African American Research Library and Cultural Center

SPONSORS

PROGRAM LISTING

THURSDAY, JULY 13, 2023

CHILDREN’S DAY

A Conversation with Kwame Alexander - A poet, educator, producer and #1 New York Times bestselling author of 39 books. He is the Executive Producer, Showrunner, and Writer of The Crossover TV series, based on his Newbery-Medal winning novel of the same name, which premiered on Disney+ in April 2023.

Auditorium. 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM.

Girls Makes Beats - Led by an experienced industry professional Girls Make Beats instructor, students will have a full hands-on experience to become a DJ for a day! Throughout the workshop, participants will: Create their own DJ name, learn the Serato DJ Pro software, understand the basics of how to use a DJ controller, use beat, tempo, and key matching of music while DJing, set hot cues for a performance.

Seminar Rooms 1 & 2. 2:30 PM – 2:15 PM.

Museum of Graffiti – Art Workshops - Trained local graffiti artists who bring their authenticity to the table. Participants will learn to draw different letter styles, characters, 3D shadows, and more! All art supplies are provided.

Urban League. 12:30 PM – 2:15.

Rennie Harris University of Hip Hop Class - Dance instructors with Rennie Harris University will lead classes on hip-hop and house dance styles. They will learn the foundations of breakin’, which include Top Rock, Footwork, Transitions and Freezes.

Urban League. 12:30 PM – 2:15 PM.

Olujimi Dance Theater’s Transnational (dance) Works (and other practices that) Evoke Revolutionary Kinship or T.W.E.R.K. - T.W.E.R.K. is a journey that explores movement, stories, traditions, sounds and rhythms of West and Central Africa, through the Global South to South Florida. The work explores the power of the divine feminine as manifested through the female body and the intersections of culture, history and philosophy.

Auditorium. 6:30 PM – 8:00 PM

FRIDAY, JULY 14, 2023

Conversation with Kevin Powell - A hip-hop historian and influencer, poet, filmmaker, human rights activist, and author of 16 books. Powell is also the author of a forthcoming biography on Tupac Shakur. His most recent book, The Kevin Powell Reader , was released in April 2023 by Akashic Books.

Auditorium. 6 PM – 7 PM

Eat. Drink. Read.: Kicks & Sips Edition - This year’s festival is entitled “WORD! Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop Culture.” In line with the theme, attendees are encouraged to rock their fliest sneakers and hip-hop fashion. The over-21, ticket-required reception will include literary-inspired culinary selections, craft cocktails and wine, and a chance to meet celebrity chefs and authors. This year’s featured entertainer is DJ Demp, a legend in Florida’s hip-hop community, and the originator of South Florida’s MC style, Jam Pony Express DJs.

Lobby. 7 PM - 10 PM.

SATURDAY, JULY 15, 2023

The Rise of the Hip-Hop South // A Conversation with Dr. Regina N. Bradley - Dr. Regina N. Bradley is the author of Chronicling Stankonia: The Rise of the Hip-Hop South. Bradley is an award-winning writer and researcher of the Black American South. She is an alumna Nasir Jones HipHop Fellow (Hutchins Center, Harvard University, Spring 2016), Associate Professor of English and African Diaspora Studies at Kennesaw State University.

Auditorium. 11 AM – 12 PM.

South Florida Got Something to Say: The History & Future of Hip-Hop - While it was born in New York, South Florida put its own spin on hip-hop music and culture with its unique sound, look, and feel. From amplified bass sounds, distinctive MCing styles, and juke dancing, South Florida created a universe all its own. Join Rico Love, recording artist, producer, and chair of the Black Music Collective for the Recording Academy, Byron Trice, in conversation with Ted Lucas, the founder of Slip-N-Slide Records, as they discuss the past, present, and future of hiphop in the region.

Auditorium. 1 PM – 2:30 PM.

Rob Kenner, The Marathon Don’t Stop: The Life and Times of Nipsey

Hussle - A founding editor of VIBE, Kenner joined the start-up team of Quincy Jones’s groundbreaking hip-hop monthly in 1992. During a nineteen-year run at VIBE he edited and wrote cover and feature stories on iconic cultural figures ranging from Tupac Shakur to Barack Obama.

Gallery B. 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM.

PROGRAM LISTING

SATURDAY, JULY 15, 2023

The Funky Drummer: Hip-Hop, Sampling, and the Legacy of Black Music - Join DJ TilleryJames and DJ LS1 of The DJ Collective for an audio tour and open discussion examining the connections between generations.

Auditorium. 4PM – 5PM.

LOCAL AUTHORS TRACK

Hip-Hop & Its Influence on Urban Fiction Literature – T.J. Hope: Hood Lemonade Series is a fiction author, CEO, spoken word artist, and promoter from South Florida. As seen in magazines such as Urban Books, Authors & Writers Of America (UBAWA), and VoyageMia, T.J. is known for her gritty, fast-paced, and engaging stories. Her books have garnered five-star reviews from avid readers and die-hard book reviewers alike.

Seminar Room #1. 12 PM – 12:45 PM.

Hip-Hop & Its Influence on Urban Fiction Literature – Kema B.: Free Game: A Foxview Heights Novel is an eighties baby, wife, and mother to the most special boy in the whole world. Creating BLACK love that checks every box, she makes it her mission as an indie author to give her readers spicy contemporary romance with a pinch of reality, and a dash of sass with every book.

Seminar Room #2. 1 PM – 1:45 PM

Hip-Hop & Its Influence on Urban Fiction Literature – Destiny Skai: The Price You Pay for Love Series was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, and is the proud mother of two young kings. In 2016, she found a place to call home with LOCKDOWN PUBLICATIONS & CA$H PRESENTS producing 18 solo projects, 4 collaborations, direct/produce one movie. In 2021 under her own publishing company, Destiny Skai Presents, she has released 7 solo projects and 5 collaborations with fellow author Jibril Williams. Along the way, she has signed 3 authors and provided services for many incarcerated authors that needed assistance with publishing their independent projects.

Seminar Room #2. 2 PM – 2:45 PM.

PROGRAM LISTING

SATURDAY, JULY 15, 2023

HIP-HOP CULTURAL TRACK

Origins of the MC: Rap & Spoken Word – Darius Daughtry and Professor Rudy JeanBart. Join one of South Florida’s most prolific spoken word artist Darius Daughtry and Legacy Magazine’s South Florida Under 40 Black Leaders of Today & Tomorrow, and Broward College Associate Dean Rudy Jean-Bart to see why rap is not simply a type of spoken poetry, but a relation in the family tree of Black artistic expression. Seminar Room #1. 12 PM – 12:45 PM.

Cassettes & Vinyl’s: Remembering South Florida’s Local Music Shops – Panel Discussion with Nadege Green, Founder of the Black Miami Dade Project, Derrick Baker, Cheryl Mizell. Gallery B. 12 PM – 12:45 PM.

The G-Code – Behind the Bars with Lemar Ingram an executive, entrepreneur, philosopher, and confessed hip-hop junkie. As a leader, he has learned to marry his love of music, street smarts, education, professional and life experience into a book of practical business and life advice in a format that is entertaining and resonates with readers. In corporate America, he learned the value of applying street knowledge in business and collected meaningful advice from trusted mentors along the way. Seminar Room #1. 1 PM – 1:45 PM.

YOUTH HIP-HOP TRACK

Girls Makes Beats - Led by an experienced industry professional Girls Make Beats instructor, students will have a full hands-on experience to become a DJ for a day! Throughout the workshop, students will: Create their own DJ name, learn the Serato DJ Pro software, understand the basics of how to use a DJ controller, use beat, tempo, and key matching of music while DJing, set hot cues for a performance. Gallery B. 11 AM – 11:45 AM.

Graffiti: The Most Colorful Element of Hip-Hop with Award Winning Illustrator and Graphic Artist Frank Morrison What is HIP-HOP without Graffiti?? Come find out by speaking with Award winning, critically acclaimed illustrator, Frank Morrison. Born in 1971, he started his journey as a graffiti artist in New Jersey, tagging walls with spray paint. However, it was the opportunity to tour with music artist Sybil as a breakdancer, an influential high school art teacher, and a visit to the Louvre Museum in Paris that opened him up to new artistic and creative avenues. Morrison’s work has been featured at Art Basel, Scope Miami and Red Dot art fairs, and shown at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture (sponsored by ESSENCE ART and Toyota) and Mason Fine Art Gallery (Atlanta, Georgia). His solo exhibitions include “Frank Morrison: Live, Love and Jazz” (2013) and “Graffiti” (2014), both at Richard Beavers Gallery (Brooklyn, New York).

An acclaimed illustrator Morrison’s work can be found in numerous award-winning children’s books including Coretta Scott King - John Steptoe Award winner Jazzy Miz Mozetta, NAACP Image Award winner Our Children Can Soar and Coretta Scott King Illustrator Honor, Little Melba and her Big Trombone. His literary client list includes international book publishers Penguin Books, HarperCollins, Hyperion, Random House and National Geographic Kids. Gallery B. 1 PM – 1:45 PM.

Thank You to our planning committee!

Jill Tracey Honorary Chair

Tramiya Fitzpatrick

Chair

Dr. Tameka Hobbs

Sheena Sewell

Andra Mentore

Nadege Green

Christopher Norwood

C. Isaiah Smalls

Dr. Rebecca Friedman

Dr. Valerie Patterson

Darius Daughtry

Prof. Rudy Jean-Bart

Derrick Baker

Dr. Marquese McFerguson

Dr. Ramona LaRoche

Lisa Jackson

Natasha Henderson

Mo Beasley

Tia Laura

David Dones

Kirt Pascal

Belvit Jordan