Essence Magazine And Berklee College of MusicSeeking Hip-Hop Artists

Essence Magazine and the Berklee College of Music are looking for Hip-Hop’s next generation of stars through their first ever Hip-Hop Songwriting Contest. Students from ages 15-18 who are unsigned can submit their music until Feb. 28. Entries will be judged based on cleverness and innovativeness of lyrics, as well as melody and composition. "This […]

Essence

Magazine and the Berklee College of Music are looking for Hip-Hop’s next generation

of stars through their first ever Hip-Hop Songwriting Contest.

Students from

ages 15-18 who are unsigned can submit their music until Feb. 28. Entries will

be judged based on cleverness and innovativeness of lyrics, as well as melody

and composition.

"This contest

will give new Hip-Hop talent the opportunity to develop their voices and style

through music education," said Essence Editor-in-Chief Angela Burt-Murray.

"We’re hoping to expose new voices in Hip-Hop that otherwise might not

have been heard."

Five winners will

be selected by a celebrity panel of judges, including MC Lyte, DJ Jazzy Joyce,

and ?uestlove of The Roots. Also judging talent will be Berklee professor Pat

Pattison, assistant professor Michael Hamilton, Berklee graduate Michael "Raydar"

Ellis and Berklee songwriting major Anjulie "Starz" Gonzalez.

Selected Grand

Prize winners will be admitted into the 2006 Berklee Five-Week Summer Performance

Program, which educates students in all aspects of performance, music theory,

music technology, music business and songwriting. Tuition and room-and-board

is included (valued at $5, 925).

One second place

winner will receive a tuition-only scholarship ($3,595), and two runners-up

will receive an online music course at Berkleemusic.com (valued between $595

and $1,250).

For complete contest

rules and an entry form, visit www.essence.com/takebackthemusic or www.berklee.edu.