Some work remains to be done on the new home of the All Of The Above Hip Hop Academy and executive director Ozay Moore can’t wait.
“This is the first time we’ve had a public-facing headquarters,” he explained. “A center by which we can facilitate programming for all ages, run workshops, host events, and kind of be a center for the community in hip hop development and culture building.”
Along with running the program, Moore is a DJ and recording artist. He has worked with producer Tall Black Guy on music projects like a score for the documentary Breaking on the One, about the rise of two important crews in breaking history in the early 1980s. A piece called "Vibe Rite" from the album Of Process and Progression was recorded at the Lansing Public Media Center.
An appropriation from the state of Michigan has made the hip hop academy’s new home possible. Moore said that up to now, they have had to move around a lot.
“Intentionally so, so that we can reach folks where they are," Moore said. "Our programming is free to youth, but in Lansing, there’s not, there hasn’t been a centralized location where young people hang out besides schools.”
Moore is excited to bring the academy’s blend of instruction to their space at 303 S. Washington Square.
Next week, break dancing, or breaking, will make its debut as an Olympic sport in Paris. Moore is amazed that an art form created by Black and Brown kids in the Bronx, New York, is about to be part of the Olympic games, while citing the agility and athleticism of breaking.
The Olympic breaking competition is set for Aug. 9 and 10, but before that, the academy will host the third annual Capital City Jam on Aug. 3 at Lansing Shuffle.
Along with workshops for attendees, competitive breakers of all ages and from across the country will be in Lansing, with cash prizes on the line. And who knows? Moore thinks future Olympians might be in the mix.
“We’ve had a few Olympians in the running in the past few years, like Bboy Morris, Pep-C, El Niño,” he concluded. “They all made it to, just about…they only were able to select four. We are a hotbed in the United States, of really credible and high-level breakers.”
In the end, Ozay Moore hopes people see hip hop as a cultural institution that’s worthy of preservation. Opening the All Of The Above Hip Hop Academy’s new home could be an important step toward that goal in Lansing.
