Berklee International Hip-Hop Symposium Spotlights Local Artists, Entrepreneurs SAMMUS, DJ Troy Frost, and DJ WhySham are among featured guest speakers for the third annual event.
By
Daniel Pesquera
February 23, 2024
Black feminist rapper and producer SAMMUS headlines the keynote event at the International Hip-Hop Symposium.
Jos Ginarte
Berklee will host the third annual International Hip-Hop Symposium, an event that gathers globally recognized hip-hop artists, creatives, and entrepreneurs to connect students with industry innovators and celebrate the cultural impact of hip-hop across the globe. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, will take place on Thursday, March 7, from 5:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at David Friend Recital Hall in Boston.
Headlining this year's program is a keynote conversation with Black feminist rapper, producer, and scholar Enongo Lumumba-Kasongo, known by her stage name SAMMUS. Lumumba-Kasongo is currently the David S. Josephson Assistant Professor of Music at the Brown Arts Institute and has produced three full-length albums, including her most recent release, Pieces in Space, which charted on Billboard. She also serves as the director of audio at Glow Up Games, the first women-of-color-led video game studio, and is a member of the KEEPERS, an archival project mapping the international contributions of women and girls across hip-hop's 50-year history. Lumumba-Kasongo will discuss her work as an acclaimed independent artist within a myriad of hip-hop spaces, her vision of incorporating science and technology into her projects, and her philosophies on advancing hip-hop curricula.
We always strive to make valuable contributions to and learn from hip-hop culture. The lineup for the third annual running of the symposium is reflective of the significant ways we are seeing the hip-hop landscape continue to evolve, elevating the artistry of changemakers from multiple backgrounds, said event founder Toki Wright, chair of the Professional Music Department. Our goal with this event is to offer students a chance to engage individuals at the center of this change who have a unique perspective on what it means to create and sustain success in this industry. We are honored and ecstatic to host this impressive cohort of hip-hop artists and connectors.
The symposium will also convene a diverse panel of local DJs and hip-hop entrepreneurs for a discussion about how hip-hop has continued to evolve on both the creative and business side of the industry. Featured speakers include Boston native DJ WhySham, who is a DJ for the Boston Celtics and a recent Recording Academy inductee; Roxbury native, artist, educator, and event curator DJ Troy Frost, who founded the hip-hop and wellness event series Purple Produce; and DJ and event curator Brandy Channel, who is the founder and gallery director of NOSA (Nubian Open Studios for the Arts), a community arts initiative in Nubian Square.
In addition to the guest artists, student Kammeron Frost will perform a short set of original works. The Berklee Hip-Hop Club will then host a beat battle, with student producers and DJs facing off head-to-head in a friendly competition judged by peers, faculty members, and special guests.
With our event positioned right after Black History Month and at the early part of Women's History Month, we are proud to have a symposium that features both female- and queer-identifying artists, each of them positive disruptors making a real change, said event producer Najwa Aswad. As a DJ myself, I owe so much of my inspiration to hip-hop. It is reaffirming to see so many unique identities stepping up as leaders within the space and spearheading many of the most innovative movements within the genre. I am excited to learn from these talented artists alongside our students.
Related Categories
News
Most Popular
Laufey '21
Gemma Warren
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Win at the 2024 Grammy Awards Laufey, Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Miguel Zen n, and Carla Patullo were among the winners of music's most coveted award.
Latest
Shivaraj Natraj
Image by Mason Davis
Student Spotlight: Shivaraj Natraj The vocalist, konnakol beatboxer, and percussionist reflects on his musical journey from Oman to India and beyond, and how he's working to bridge Western and South Asian musical styles.
40 Years Later, Thriller's Grammy Sweep Still Resonates Professors Lil John Roberts and Mimi Jones, part of the team leading the upcoming Michael Jackson Ensemble concert, share their thoughts on the most successful album of all time.
Black feminist rapper and producer SAMMUS headlines the keynote event at the International Hip-Hop Symposium.
Jos Ginarte
Berklee International Hip-Hop Symposium Spotlights Local Artists, Entrepreneurs SAMMUS, DJ Troy Frost, and DJ WhySham are among featured guest speakers for the third annual event.
Read All
Subscribe The latest sounds, stories, and ideas, sent to your inbox weekly.
North America Stories
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
NVIDIA and Microsoft Reinvent Windows PCs for the Age of Personal AI
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
RTX Spark - a 1-Petaflop Superchip, the Full...
04/06/2026
Inside the Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man Grade
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Simone Grattarola discusses shaping the look in DaVinci Resolve...
04/06/2026
Cine Gear Expo Announces 2026 Awards of Excellence Recipients
Brie Clayton June 3, 2026
0 Comments
Ed Lachman ASC, Caleb Deschanel ASC, and M. David M...
04/06/2026
St. Vincents Live with Orchestra Tour to Feature Berklee Alum Ruby Plume Berklee alumni St. Vincent and Ruby Plume will appear on the same bill across seven d...
04/06/2026
June's forecast with GeForce NOW: 100% chance of gaming.
GeForce NOW is lining up new adventures for the month, from big-name blockbusters to quirky indies...
03/06/2026
SES and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, have launched multi-orbit satellite inflight connectivity on Viva's Airbus aircraft. A total of 60 A320s ...
03/06/2026
The College Football Playoff, ESPN, and TNT Sports have announced kick times and...
03/06/2026
RED Digital Cinema will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 (Booth 33, June 5-6, Universal Studios Lot), hosting three panels and hands-on product demonstrations.
P...
03/06/2026
Roku has announced the Soccer Zone, a dedicated hub for FIFA World Cup 2026 content available across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argent...
03/06/2026
Liverpool FC and Wasabi Technologies have announced a multi-year extension of their partnership, with Wasabi continuing as the club's official cloud storage...
03/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced that Australian News Channel (ANC), operator of Sky News Australia, has deployed Grass Valley AMPP as part of the relocation of its n...
03/06/2026
The Riedel Group has announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel Networks. She succeeds Michael Martens, who has led Riedel Networks since 201...
03/06/2026
Clear-Com has announced the deployment of its intercom solutions at Itaka Arena ...
03/06/2026
Scott Coker has announced six senior executive appointments for his new global MMA promotion, which launched earlier this year with $60 million in financing. Ad...
03/06/2026
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the FIFA World Cup 2026, has announced its digital and social media programming for the tournament, running Ju...
03/06/2026
The Bundesliga has announced the launch of Captain, an AI assistant built into t...
03/06/2026
Anthony James Partners (AJP) is serving as technology consultant for a moderniza...
03/06/2026
Audio-Technica has announced the recipients of its annual sales rep firm awards for the 2025-26 fiscal year. The awards were presented by Jim Schanz, Executive ...
03/06/2026
iodyne will exhibit at Cine Gear Expo 2026 alongside RED Digital Cinema and Adob...
03/06/2026
The broadcaster will deploy 39 cameras for game coverage, six cameras for studio...
03/06/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is providing a great opportunity for not only Fox Sports...
03/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p compatible PTZ Auto Framing camera that uses Sony's proprietary AI to automatically recognize and tra...
03/06/2026
Game Creek Video's Flagship A, B, C, and D unit will wind up its first year ...
03/06/2026
According to Caretta Research, the sports-rights market may be hitting the brake...
03/06/2026
Retrieval still courtesy of Tribeca.
By Jessica Herndon
This year, the Tribeca...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
For more than three decades, Re-recording Mixer Andrew Wilson, AMPS, CAS, has helped bring the natural world to the screen with exceptional audio enjoyed by mil...
03/06/2026
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will showcase its latest innovations for modern AV production environments at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N...
03/06/2026
DPA Microphones will present a comprehensive portfolio of integrated audio solutions designed to meet the evolving needs of today's professional AV environm...
03/06/2026
Lightware announces the GVN-HC-TX220AP, a new transmitter in the Gemini GVN 1G AV-over-IP family that introduces full-featured USB-C for professional 1Gb AV-ove...
03/06/2026
Evergent, the customer management and monetization leader for streaming and digital subscription businesses, and Minno, the global leader in faith-based content...
03/06/2026
Alfalite, Europe's only LED display manufacturer, has completed a new broadcast installation with the deployment of two UHD Finepix 1.5 MATIX AlfaCOB LED di...
03/06/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast media industry, is completing a contract to build eight...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
03/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Berklee International Hip-Hop Symposium Spotlights Local Artists, Entrepreneurs SAMMUS, DJ Troy Frost, and DJ WhySham are among featured guest speakers for the third annual event.
