One of the most positive celebrations of authentic hip hop culture came and went this past weekend. The fact that the Universal Zulu Nation is the first, the most respected, and the longest lasting hip hop organization in the world is a magazine feature in itself, if not a book. Therefore I had to question the very sparse media presence at any of the Zulu events on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. I will not take personal blame for any lacking in my own publicity services which helped to pull BET and MTV in for features at last year's anniversary.

So why, when Zulu is throwing the perfect jam with big names, so few writers or publications are interested in covering the event? Well, since the rap industry can more relate itself with the porn industry these days, maybe the all age thang was unappetizing. Or was it my mention in the press release about the acts being asked to use little or no profanity? Or was it the fact that most of the young writers and magazine editors think that Run DMC is as old school as you can get? Maybe Bambaataa should have had an open bar or let ladies in for free?

Where was the so-called "hip hop" (read "rap") press? The Source magazine was the ONLY major Hip Hop magazine covering the 27th Annual Zulu Nation Anniversary- both Friday and Saturday night for their February 2001 issue feature story. Even the New York Times printed a review of the event in Nov. 13th's Metro section! Mass Appeal's DJ Elf saved the day on Friday but I'll tell you about that later. Where was the "Hip Hop on a Higher Level"

magazine, XXL? Where was Rap Pages? Where were the underground magazines who always want their logo on all the flyers but never cover the actual event? Where were the so called "hip hop authorities" and "aficionados": certain free lance celebrity journalists, who always tell us what they are doing "for the culture", who have established "hip hop foundations", who teach in the colleges and universities or who fly around giving so called "hip hop lectures"? Oh yeah- where were the so called hip hop Internet companies?

It's also all right without them, they'd probably get the facts all messed up anyhow since there are so few fact checkers giving anyone a call these days. A lot of people say that when you decide that you know it all, you become the most ignorant. So I strive to never stop learning about the culture and am always meeting people from hip hop's formative years who have history to share that I've never heard or read before. What I am asking is, can these so called hip hop authorities afford to miss reunions like the Zulu Anniversary? It was only $10 with a flyer to get in so it can't be the money issue....

The 27th Anniversary of the Universal Zulu Nation was a huge success despite all of the obstacles threatening impending doom for the much awaited gathering. The initial organizer of the event dropped out for personal reasons leaving Zulu staff to scramble to book a venue on short notice and get flyers to all 5 boroughs. I was personally happy to see the nightly events go down at the Skate Key, a huge roller rink in the Mott Haven section of the Bronx. The Key has a nice atmosphere and I've never had a bad time there. There were the typical problems with the sound system, lighting, etc. that eventually got ironed out but as an organizer, will leave you holding your breath praying that it will all get worked out in time for your itinerary to be realized.

I was honored that Afrika Bambaataa asked me to help with the organizing of the events. I elected to do publicity, schedule the acts, and stage manage. Lucky Strike, Jay Sanchez, and several others pulled in the acts and supervised the planning of each day's events. All of the acts performed for free in full support of and respect for Afrika Bambaataa and the Universal Zulu Nation. It is a pleasure to work with so many good people who believe in the essence and spirit of what hip hop is supposed to be. Believe me, these events were as opposite a jiggy rap concert as you could get.

1. Security was tight- held down by the Skate Key and Shaka Zulu security.

2. Unlike rap shows today, the performers were not allowed to perform with DATs, tapes, or CDs. They had to bring a DJ or at least a record with their instrumental so another DJ could spin it for them. And this is ideal but there were several emcees who made a strong attempt to use a CD or DAT and should be ashamed of themselves with so many DJs in the house!

3. It was all ages.

4. There were no fights.

5. The crowd was multi-cultural. When Bam addressed the crowd he shouted out each and every and even undiscovered colors of people. I've been to too many events and panels where comments were made on the exclusivity of one color in relation to the ownership of hip hop and I really felt unwelcome despite my being active in the culture. I like Zulu because my color doesn't have to come into consideration everytime I'm asked to work with them.

6. People were allowed to break, which is usually discouraged at jiggy clubs and concerts as it takes up too much floor space.

7. No one was playing the latest hits, except when Bam was flipping the Thong song or the No Scrubs anthem! Bambaataa, a true DJ, can make even those songs sound cool. I haven't always lived in New York but I've always had this utopian idea of what goes down with the Zulu Nation. I believed that is was all colors, all ages, all ethnic groups, both genders, giving peace, love, and respect for anyone who was down to celebrate the whole of Hip Hop culture and hell bent on preserving the positive aspects for future generations. I was right, thank God!!!!When I finally had enough money to move to NYC in 1996, I was determined to never miss a Zulu Anniversary again. To go to a Zulu Anniversary is like a Hip Hall of Fame for me. There are legends who never come around at all for other hip hop events but the Zulu Anniversary seems to pull them out of the woodwork like an old family reunion. I saw Kurtis Blow and A.J., Special K, Double Trouble's Little Rodney C & KK Rockwell, Waterbed Kev, DJ Baron, the Infinity Rappers, Original New York City Breakers: Powerful Pex and Lil Lep, GrandMaster Flash, Kel, Bomb 5, Afrika Bambaataa (of course), Grand Wizard Theodore, Jazzy Jay, GrandMixer DST, Dez, Raheim, Crash Crew's Reggie Reg, Yoda, Lashubee, and Mike C; Tony Tone, Grand Master Caz, AD, KG, and JDL (Cold Crush Brothers) and more. Well you get my point! Where else can you go but the Bronx to see so many of Hip Hop's legends, creators, and pioneers in one place?[This little note goes directly out to all of those individuals whose egos alone take up the space of 3 people in a venue: I saw you at the door. You didn't have enough comps if you were a performer. You yelled and screamed to be acknowledged. Even though some of you weren't performing, didn't help to promote, and/or never go to Zulu meetings, you still wanted to demand to be let in for free. I have to remind you that $10 w/flyer is not a lot of money, esp. to be able to see KRS One, Cold Crush, Crash Crew, etc. all in one night. I will also say that yes, you are celebrities, BUT have you done more than Bambaataa for the culture? You don't throw parties, and if you did, you wouldn't see Bam standing around the door bullying your people to let his peeps in for free. To fans who came from all over the world to meet you, shouldn't you be acting with dignity like the hip hop royalty that you are? I have a special letter for each of you in the first issue of Mugshot.] I am going to leave the run down of each day's events for someone else's article but I will share my personal favorites! Friday: Nov. 10th: Slyce, 97 DMC US Champ, kicks off the night's events at the Key with a special roller skating set straight from the late 70's! Slyce used to spin regularly at a roller rink in NJ. Normally he doesn't enjoy party rocking but this was his time and these were his jams. Common Thread was next. They are just getting their name out there. They came with a dub plate of their beats and were very positive in message. They along with another really cool brother named Sev, who emceed as well, were presented by our dear friend Shock-A-Lock of Shock Entertainment. Ms. Merciless and her crew did a champion performance. She was presented to Zulu by the legendary Tony Tone of the Cold Crush Brothers. If Tone is standing behind you, you can't go wrong! DJ Lenn Swann flew in at his own expense from Detroit Rock City to spin for the weekend. He actually saved the day at the B-Boy battle earlier in the day, when the confirmed DJ let everyone down by not showing up!! Thank you Lenn! Lil Rodney C and KK Rockwell performed along with legendary DJ Baron. Rodney has an especially positive pro-God, anti-substance abuse message that I was happy to hear him announce. Percee P did his thing with several other brothers whose names I have yet to get! DOA (MB2000) and special guest, Afua (Anomalies) did a special vocal percussion showcase and Afua can sing beautifully as well. DOA also provided beats for Rahiem's lyrics.Then a duo that hasn't performed together in years took the stage...Kurtis Blow and A.J.! DJ Elf from Mass Appeal, who I mentioned earlier, saved the day by supplying A.J. with Kurtis Blow records (that he brought along hoping to get autographed). A.J. for some reason, was not told to bring his records and I was determined not see any DAT's replace one of my favorite DJs. Kurtis held 3 or 4 mics in one hand like some sort of technical bouquet of sorts. Shaking his head and smiling at AJ's first selection, Kurtis followed A.J.'s lead and paid homage to his DJ by performing "A.J.'s Scratch". The residue of any nonsense I put up with all evening, melted away with the first line "Up in the Bronx where the people are fresh...." I never thought I would ever see that performed live! Thank you Kurtis and A.J. for making my eyes water and putting a little lump in my throat. Unfortunately, DJ Slynke who waited around patiently all evening to spin for the dancers as well as his sweetheart, Honey Rockwell, didn't get to hit the decks as we had hoped due to some unexpected circumstance that I will try to forget happened but at this point I am still angry about. Let's just say that there still exists a lot of self entitlement and extremely aggressive behavior that some people use to reach their ends. We are all extremely apologetic Slynke. Saturday, Nov. 12th:Afrika Bambaataa was at the helm in the DJ booth supervising the floor and getting the dance circles started.When the time came to start the night's performances, something very different happened. KRS One chose to rock first! Leaving Musik G and his Underground Army who were originally scheduled to go on first, asking how they could possibly go on after Kris! They had a point. I wondered who would go on after KRS One who was last on the itinerary.KRS started on the stage with what looked to be 10 street dancers but then ran out to the middle of the roller rink so he could rock while the dancers hit the circle. Instead of the 15 minutes he was originally committed to, Kris went for a half hour minimum. I feel bad for all those heads who thought they could catch the fight and bounce over to the Key in time to see KRS-One perform!Following KRS was Craig Mack. He did the crowd favorites and bounced. Unfortunately his DJ (K-Slay aka Dez (from StyleWars) arrived after his performance!Musik G and the Underground Army, who are developing quite an underground following, finally climbed the dangerously narrow stairs to the stage. DJ Frenzi had been behind the wheels for 2 hours waiting for their turn! Thanks for waiting guys! Musik G's sound can be best described as "hype hop". Something that I miss very much since crews like Leaders of the New School broke up. I believe they have a radio show too. You can write to them at musikg@bboy.com to find out more about them and the show.The Crash Crew and Cold Crush Brothers performances were perfect examples of what's missing in most rap performances today. Everyone on stage is doing his part (not just standing there with their arms crossed looking hard). The Cold Crush, with Tony Tone on the wheels, as Charlie Chase had other engagements, were constantly in motion. Each emcee had his own part that contributed to my thinking to myself: "Now this is actually entertaining". The Crash Crew, like the Cold Crush, just can't go wrong. Their songs are classic. They are the kind of group that, as they go from song to song, you'll be saying to yourself, "They did that one too?". They have too many favorites to name.Not to be outdone, Nice and Smooth rocked the party as well. They performed all of their classic favorites and most bobbing heads in the crowd were singing along.I have to give special shout outs to Jazzy Jay, Raheim (Furious Five, Funky Four etc.) and JB. Jazzy took care of the sound and supplied microphones. Sometimes, his dancing and side stage antics were more entertaining than the scheduled entertainers! He stayed near his sound board and received old friends and respectful fans equally. Raheim hosted both nights in a row. He kept the mic vultures from bogarting. He doesn't curse when he's hosting or rhyming. Raheim is such a positive brother and is very easy to work with. I would like to see him hosting and performing a lot more. JB was stage security as well as my partner in stage managing. It would be a privilege to work with you again JB. Maybe I'll get to hear your group, Black Reign/Solid Noize someday? Thank you Jazzy, JB, and Raheim, you worked well together, are such cool brothers and helped to make the event that much better!My favorite night (I didn't have to work!) was the Sunday event that was basically billed as a time to dance, check out Bomb 5's artwork, and present the enormous B-Boy battle trophies. The venue was on 91st & Columbus at the Goddard River Community Center thanks to a hook up from our dear friend, Scotty. The music was supplied by King UpRock and DJ Chance. Most everyone in the community center knew each other and for the most part got along. I say for the most part due to a certain battle that took place.I'm told it all stemmed from a battle that took place a week before between B-Boy Fever One and King Uprock. As Fever One tells it, "King UpRock felt safe in calling me out while me & Ness were battling 4 of the Breaks Crew members at Wetlands." What is important to note here is that King UpRock challenged Fever (who was initially breaking) to an uprocking battle.Well.... Alien Ness, Fever's partner, went out on King UpRock on Sunday. So the battle went forward with Ness breaking and King UpRock uprocking which is a very difficult battle to judge when each dancer is doing a different dance. As Ness and King UpRock were going at it, another guy from UpRock's camp, who has also battled Ness and lost, tried to go out on Ness again. This is when Fabel came in on Ness's side and uprocked against this new opponent. All in all, this was my favorite part of the whole night. I love all the drama of a battle - even if it's mismatched.Thank you finally to Afrika Bambaataa for creating a hip hop community that we can all believe in! You looked very striking in that black and orange combat helmet by the way! It was an honor working for you!All in all, the 27th Annual Zulu Anniversary was a success, thank God. The New York Times reporter wrote a great review being careful not to call everyone "breakdancers" or to confuse Hip Hop with being just rap. Look forward to the Feb. 2001 issue of the Source in which the Anniversary is going to be the feature article. I saw them interviewing Jazzy Jay, Raheim and a host of others.I trust that the Zulu Warrior B-Boy battle organizers: Speedy Legs, B-Boy Speedy, and Ken Swift will supply the play by plays and winners of the battle!Peace and Happy Anniversary Zulu!