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5th Anniversary of 206 Zulu
February 13-16th
206 Zulu celebrated its 5th Anniversary last February 13-16th, as thousands congregated Presidents Day weekend in Seattle, Washington to experience what has become one of the largest Hip Hop summits in the Northwest. Riding on the success of the previous years, this year expanded to unparalleled heights as over 75 Hip Hop practicioners and supporters from over 20 cities gathered in the Zulu spirit of "Peace, Love, Unity & Havin' Fun".
The festivities began Friday at Hidmo, a multi-faceted space that not only serves delicious Eritrean Cuisine, but is also an intimate all-ages venue. The kick-off party, carried with sounds of DJ's Seabefore, Koo-C (Daly City, CA) and Sureal went on during the evening. As the meet-n-greet continued, the positive energy escalated with close out performances by Yirim Seck and Piece.
Events during Saturday were held at the Vera Project, Seattle's premier all-ages venue. The early afternoon youth workshops began at 2pm and included a range of breakout sessions such as Hip Hop History with Lord Yoda X (NYC) and Queen Michele (PA), MCing with Silver Shadow D, B-Boying with Orbitron, DJing and Audio Technology with Rane, and Graffiti Art with Sire One. The was a large youth presence, ranging from children to teens.
The Graff Expo included an art gallery, blackbook sessions and live painting. The art gallery was on display at the Vera for the entire month of February which consisted of dozens of the Northwest's finest. Blackbook sessions were in full effect, with a wide range of people from kids to mothers to well-known artists. The live painting took place inside with smaller canvases, as well as outside with a massive 32' X 8' production by Daze One (San Diego), Charms Won, Sire One and Sen One (NYC).
A new attraction to the 206 Zulu Anniversary was Real to Reel: Hip Hop Film Festival, which was held from Saturday through Monday. Films showcased were Bringing Hip-Hop Back To The Hood: Seattle Grassroots Organizing Shorts, Coolout TV "What is 206 Zulu?", Masizakhe, Let Us Build Together and A Beautiful One Man Show.
This year's performances were spotlighted with a 4 hour block Saturday evening that included OneBeLo, Dim Mak, Khingz, D-Black, Siren's Echo, and more. The high energy in the performances was reciproicated by the audience.
This year 206 Zulu partnered with Paulskeee to present Mighty 4, an internationally-reknowned touring breakdance competition at the 5th Anniversary which was held at the Experience Music Project, right next to the Space Needle. This free event was a huge sucess and housed over 1,000 people. A massive line wrapped 2 sides of the block. Dozens of people flew in to enter the competition, with cash prizes totalling $4,000. The three battles included 3-on-3, Bonnie & Clyde, and Footwork. The judges for this were Trac2 (Hartford, CT), Alien Ness (New York City), Orbitron (Seattle, WA), Poe One (LA, CA), and Remind (Monterey, CA). DJ's Soul One, DV One, Bles One and Tecumseh held down the breaks. The Masters of Ceremonies were Kutfather (San Diego), Free, Rob Nice and Lord Yoda X. Peformances by Dyme Def and Orbitron. Mighty 4 Appreciation Awards went to Kutfather, Mr. Supreme, DVS Crew and King Khazm.
206 Zulu would like to thank everyone who came and all who contributed to make this event possible. Additional thanks to City of Seattle, Rane Corporation, KBCS 91.3 FM, Hip Hop Congress, Festival Sundiata, Mighty 4, Beacon Skillz, El Centro de la Raza, Platinum Records, Spoons Apparel, Mint Factory, Driver4Hire.biz, Seattle Drum School, Hidmo Eritrean Cusine, St. Clouds, the Vera Project, EMP/SFM, Bamboo Beats, Wicked X Productions, MADK Productions, Coolout Network and Umojafest P.E.A.C.E. Center
To view photo gallery, click HERE.
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