New Haven, CT – June 19, 2025
New Haven marked its 12th annual Juneteenth celebration with a vibrant spotlight on hip‑hop culture, as the Neighborhood Music School hosted the seventh annual New Haven Hip‑Hop Conference on June 19. The day-long event, held at the school’s 100 Audubon Street location, celebrated hip‑hop’s role in both artistic expression and social activism.
Organizers designed the conference as a “multisensory journey,” offering interactive workshops that showcased the four foundational elements of hip‑hop: turntablism, emceeing, graffiti, and dance. Participants explored the roots and evolution of these disciplines through hands-on activities, including rhythm and DJ tutorials, live street art demonstrations, and breakdancing instruction.
A major highlight came with a keynote presentation from M‑1 and Umi of the politically engaged hip‑hop group Dead Prez. Renowned for their unapologetic lyrics and advocacy for Black empowerment, the duo reflected on the genre’s revolutionary origins and how it remains a vehicle for protest, storytelling, and community healing.
The conference also included interdisciplinary panels that blended artistic and academic insights. A youth panel gave local young voices a platform to discuss how hip‑hop informs their identities, aspirations, and creative work. The film segment screened short documentaries and videos that delved into the socio-political narratives woven into the genre’s development over the past five decades.
Alongside these discussions, vendor booths lined the venue offering everything from handmade crafts and educational resources to books, apparel, and music by local creators. These marketplace-style interactions helped foster deeper connections among artists, educators, and attendees while supporting community-based entrepreneurship.
While part of a broader Juneteenth festival featuring concerts, food vendors, and family activities throughout the city, the Hip‑Hop Conference offered a distinctly cultural lens through which to commemorate the holiday. Juneteenth, which marks the emancipation of enslaved African Americans, has become a federally recognized day of reflection, celebration, and education. The conference leaned into that ethos, honoring freedom not only through historical remembrance but through contemporary creative expression.
Dr. Hanan Hameen‑Diagne, a key organizer of the event, emphasized its educational mission. “We’re showing young people the real origins of hip‑hop,” she said in a public statement, “and that it’s not just entertainment—it’s knowledge, movement, and power.” The Neighborhood Music School, which collaborates with Artsucation and the New Haven hip-hop community, has continued to deepen its role as a hub for intergenerational learning and cultural celebration.
Now in its seventh year, the Hip‑Hop Conference has become a signature feature of New Haven’s Juneteenth programming. With a blend of performance, dialogue, and education, it continues to underscore hip‑hop’s enduring influence and capacity to unite communities around shared stories, struggles, and hopes.