Hip Hop Connxion: The One 2010

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The next day after the Prelude Midwest event, I met up with Lakhi from Ascene Chicago to shoot for "The One", which is an annual event spearheaded by the various chapters of Hip Hop Connxion. What I can thoroughly appreciate, aside from the amazing event they put together, is the fact that they really have their focus down. In addition to their incredible talent, they strive to make that positivity a magnetic force all over the world, educate others, inspire self-confidence and deter the youth from drugs. Pretty amazing mission statement. And it goes well with one of their mottos:

“It’s not about who you beat, it’s about who you inspire” - Suavé

To make things even sweeter, Suavé from Hip Hop Connxion brought in some incredible regional talent (Nonstop, Culture Shock Chicago, House Arrest 2, HHC-Michigan, Design, Hip Hop Force, Phaze II, CODA, MADD Rhythms, HHC-Chicago, FootworKINGZ, Purifyied, HHC-Indiana, Be the Groove and Gifted Souls) and the infamous KABA Modern in to treat the crowd with some awe-inspiring choreography. While getting some photos n' footage done with Ascene, it was great to delve into some of the crew's backgrounds and inspirations for why they do what they do. We also got in a quick word with Suavé, the man behind "The One", and picked his brain about what the show is all about. In a way, it made me take a look back and think about where Unscene Media has gone, what it strives to be and done and where it wants to go.



We also got some time to get to know KABA Modern a bit better (OMG!) which was great. I remember watching them back in the (single digit) Vibe days and thinking they were going to be HUGE. What's great is that despite all their successes, they are still down-to-earth, funny and really chill people to talk to. Really nice meeting all you guys and I hope we cross paths again soon! (and I hope Portillos was all you hoped for, Cindy haha)

FYI, I really had a hard time narrowing down the photos I really liked to post up on the blog...so if you guys want to view the photos in their entirety, you can see the lot of them on the slideshow at the top of this post). Cool? Cool. Enjoy the photos!


































































Lastly I wanted to express my personal condolences for the loss of Katie Lunn - a Chicago member (then and always) of Hip Hop Connxion. I didn't know her personally, but the impression that she left on her fellow dancers was felt to the fullest. Suavé himself made it clear that the entirety of this year's show was dedicated to her memory. Rest in peace.