A trendsetting event
has been taking place in New York the first Friday of every month – Hip-Hop
karaoke.
This month’s event takes place at Manhattan’s Rothko,
free to the public. “We wanted to have a Hip-Hop show that you got to
perform at; the whole set-up with a real DJ, a real stage, a venue, the whole
thing. It’s not like a sushi bar,” DJ Wex, one of the event founders,
told AllHipHop.com.
Unlike most karaoke settings, this event features over 210 available
Rap songs.
According to other founder, J.New, “The first and foremost
thing was that our song-list was amenable to Hip-Hop heads. That’s not
to say that someone who doesn’t know Hip-Hop can’t come down. All
of us have a love and appreciation for the culture. This is no way diluting
the culture, it’s adding to it. We’re not looking to make a joke
out of it.”
According to its founders, “They Reminisce over You”
has been the most popular song over the two years.
Artists such as Heltah Skeltah’s Ruck, producer/rapper
Diamond, and Sadat X have been previously attended the event.
J.New, DJ Wex, and Diggety founded this monthly event in 2004,
and it has since been expanded to events in London, Amsterdam, and Iceland.
For more information,
visit www.hiphopkaraokenyc.com