Bodega Education Initiative

The Bodega Education Initiative is a series of talks and discussions designed to create a space of dialogue between the diverse members of the Hip-Hop community. Attendees of BEI will learn about the history and content of Hip-Hop as seen through the pioneers and most intimate members of the culture. BEI will ultimately serve as a meeting point for all the different voices and perspectives within the Hip-Hop community: fans, artists, scholars, and practitioners in order to honor the history as well as add momentum to the culture.

Berklee College of Music and Berkleemusic.com, Berklee’s online extension school, are teaming up with Brooklyn Bodega, to present a scholarship to an up-and-coming Emcee in a “Freestyle Challenge” at The Festival’s Bodega Education Initiative. Brooklyn Bodega will choose five finalists to perform alongside Berklee’s J Dilla Ensemble, a 14-piece student ensemble, during the group’s performance at the close of BEI. The winning Emcee will earn free enrollment in a Berkleemusic.com course of his or her choosing.

This year’s BEI is "Beyond The Mic" a day of panel discussions and seminars designed to explore intellectual and academic issues facing the Hip-Hop community. From business to law to writing to production and everything else in between. Participants will include:

-Dr. Marcella Runell Hall of NYU

-Dru Ha of Duck Down Records

-Homeboy Sandman

The Bodega Education Initiative starts at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, July 13 at the Higgins Hall Auditorium of the Pratt Institute

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