'Hip Hop Is Dead?' Well, Not Quite

There are few (if any) genres of music that revere its dead as much as hip-hop. This coming Thursday, you can join in on the reverence by attending the "Hip Hop Is Dead?" event at the 10th Avenue Theatre & Arts Centre.

The event is a sort of hip-hop take on the Mexican Day of the Dead holiday. It aims to pay tribute to a wide scope of fallen artists, everyone from national stars like Tupac, Notorious BIG and Ol' Dirty Bastard to underground heroes like Eyedea, Mac Dre and J Dilla -- even local artists.

Several local artists will also be performing. If you're into local hip-hop (and who isn't, right? **crickets**), you'd be hard-pressed to find a better lineup, pound for pound. Odessa Kane brings his political fire. Piff PCH adds raw, tongue-twisting poetics. Old English spits from the heart. Parker & the Numberman exude cool that would make Miles Davis lose his. Banish and Aims beat down on punks. Brother Nature, Scatterbrain, B-Boy Mafia ... and the list goes on. This is kind of a big deal.

There will also be a freestyle MC battle, live graffiti from select writers and art displays from several artists. This is gearing up to be (hopefully) a big gathering with widespread support from the entire community. Come on out. You can even bring the kids!

10th Avenue Theatre & Arts Centre
930 10th Ave.
6 p.m. to 2 a.m.
All ages
Tickets are $10

Quan Vu Quan Vu is the founder and editor of local music blog SD Raps.com. He has also written about local and national hip-hop acts for San Diego CityBeat and the San Diego Reader. You can nerd out on rap trivia by following him on Twitter or e-mailing him directly.

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