See you at The Crossroads: Death & Hip Hop

You know what time it is: Halloween! So let's get right to it and talk about how hip-hop deals with death. Though death in music is nothing new (a whole genre, gothic, is devoted to it). But hip-hop's emergence in and around urban communities shaped by poverty, violence, and gun culture introduced new dimensions to the relationship between music and death. During hip-hop's first three decades, a number of prominent artists died violently, many by gunfire. How have those interpretations evolved as more prominent hip-hop artists have died from natural causes? And how is death represented across the other three original elements of hip-hop culture-DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti?

Join The Stranger's Senior Staff Writer Charles Mudede, Live Soundtrack Provider Vitamin D and Dr. Daudi Abe for this lively (forgive the pun) and seasonal discussion, "See you at The Crossroads: Death & Hip Hop" Thursday, October 29 7pm at Black & Tan Hall. Doors @ 6:30.