Courtesy of Jackson State University
Mississippi Public Broadcasting and WJSU “The Sipp.FM” will host a special screening of the new PBS documentary “Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World” on Feb. 2, at Jackson State University. The event will feature a panel discussion with the series director, Yemi Bamiro, who will make a virtual appearance from London.
Produced in partnership with BBC Music, the four-part docuseries will premiere Jan. 31, on MPB, PBS.org and the PBS App. Developed by Chuck D and his producing partner, Lorrie Boula, the series tells the story of hip-hop as an organic expression of experience that was unapologetic, fierce and empowering as it spoke truth to power and informed a nation through a different lens.
The event will be held in JSU’s Student Union Theater. The panel discussion will follow the screening. Bamiro will be joined by MPB producer Java Chatman, hip-hop culture historian Charlie Braxton and two JSU students. The panel will be moderated by Brad “Kamikaze” Franklin, host of Third Coast Radio, a weekly broadcast on MPB Think Radio.
The screening event is free, but seating is limited. Register here or visit mpbonline.org.
Featuring firsthand accounts from some of rap’s most integral players, “Fight the Power: How Hip Hop Changed the World,” recounts the origins of this bold and revolutionary art form through the voices of those who were there at the beginning, showing viewers how hip-hop became a cultural phenomenon against the backdrop of American history. Weaving together interconnected moments via intimate interviews and archival footage, the docuseries will explore how hip-hop quickly created a provocative narrative of America.
“The hip-hop community has, from the start, been doing what the rest of media is only now catching up to,” said Chuck D. “Long before any conglomerate realized it was time to wake up, hip-hop had been speaking out and telling truths. Working with PBS and BBC is an opportunity to deliver these messages through new ways and help explain hip-hop’s place in history and hopefully inspire us all to take it further.”
The series includes insightful interviews with hip-hop luminaries, including Chuck D, Grandmaster Caz, Ice-T, Abiodun Oyewole (The Last Poets), Roxanne Shanté, Run DMC, John Forté, will.i.am, MC Lyte, B-Real (Cypress Hill), Melle Mel, Fat Joe, Lupe Fiasco and more.
