After reading KRS One's, The Gospel of Hip Hop, First Instrument for the Temple of Hip Hop and The Hip Hop Deceleration of Peace within its' pages I had to introduce the powerful text to the hip hop architectural community to assure that we abide by the principles set fourth by the founders of hip hop culture.
Read MoreHip Hop Architecure Lecture: University of Wisconsin Milwaukee
On Friday, February 13, 2015 I will team with Eryk "The Arch-E-Tect" Christian to deliver a lecture at University of Wisconsin Milwaukee's School of Architecture and Urban Planning titled, "LeCorbusier, The Forefather of Hip Hop?". The lecture focuses on the subconscious contributions of famed architects and urban planners to the environments which necessitated the birth of hip hop culture. This lecture will culminate with urban culture’s influence on the architectural profession through three interconnected realms: academic research, professional practice and media, ultimately introducing a new architectural style, one inspired by hip hop culture.
Read MoreTime-Lapse Video - Hip Hop Architecture Lecture
On September 24, 2014 I was invited to lecture at University of Detroit Mercy's School of Architecture as a part of the 2014 Detroit Design Festival. Here is a time-lapse video of attendees filling the lecture space.
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Hip Hop at 2014 Detroit Design Festival
On September 24, 2014 as part of the 2014 Detroit Design Festival I will give a lecture at titled "Hip Hop Inspired Architecture" at the University of Detroit's School of Architecture.
Date: September 24, 2014
Reception: 5:00pm
Lecture: 6:00pm
See Detroit Design Festival's full lineup here.
The main goals of the lecture are to:
1. Increase the awareness of the social responsibilities of architects and urban planners.
2. Encourage individuals of the profession's underrepresented groups to pursue a career in architecture.
3. Provide tools to increase the recruitment and retention rates of minorities in schools of architecture across the country.
4. Blast some hip hop in the middle of an architecture school!
"The Hip Hop Wars" by Tricia Rose - Photo by BMR Photography and Michael Ford
Hip Hop Book of The Week - The Hip Hop Wars by Tricia Rose
Hip Hop Inspired Architecture Lecture at University of Detroit Mercy's School of Architecture. September 24, 2015.
Hip Hop Architecture at Detroit Design Festival
On September 24, 2014, Michael Ford will deliver a lecture titled, "Hip Hop Inspired Architecture and Design" at the University of Detroit Mercy's School of Architecture as a part of Detroit's Design Festival.
Read MoreHip Hop Architecture - Call For Submissions - DEADLINE EXTENSION
Did you complete a graduate thesis investigation related to the merger of architecture and hip hop culture? Did you complete an undergraduate studio project related to the topic or even a lecture or developed a published article related to the topic? If so, this call is for you. This call is for architectural professionals, students and artists to submit previously completed works for review and inclusion in my upcoming exhibit. The exhibit is titled, “A Cultural Innovation: Hip Hop Inspired Architecture and Arts” and is scheduled for Thursday, June 26, 2014 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel and Towers from 7:00pm - 9:00pm. The exhibit will highlight my research on this topic and will include the works of iconic entertainers, hip hop artists, academic institutions, students and architects from around the globe.
Read MoreHip Hop Academy: Inside A Beatmaker's Harvard Class
The Hip-Hop Fellow is a 78 minute documentary following Grammy Award winning producer 9th Wonder's tenure at Harvard University as he teaches 'The Standards of Hip-Hop' course, conducts research for his thesis and explores hip-hop's history, culture and role in academia. The film centers on the emerging significance of incorporating hip-hop studies into the academy and spotlights the scholars and musicians at the forefront of preserving 40 years of hip-hop culture.
Interviewees include Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Kendrick Lamar, Young Guru, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, Phonte, Dr. Marcyliena Morgan, Ali Shaheed Muhammad, Ab-Soul, Rapper Big Pooh & DJ Premier.
Video - KRS-One - The Essence of Hip Hop Revealed at Temple University
KRS-ONE, (Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Nearly Everybody) who many deem as the original hip hop intellectual, breaks down the essence of hip hop in his speech at Temple University in April of 2004. I hope it inspires you just as much as it inspired me!
Jay Z as Guest Lecturer? - Schooling Students in Fine Arts and Architecture
Jay Z's memoir "Decoded" unveiled the mysterious double entendres and artistic references within his lyrics in a very sophisticated manner which open the eyes to various academics around the nation to the power and artistic genius behind rap lyrics. One of those academics is Dr. Shawn Peters at University of Wisconsin Madison. For the past two decades the hip hop generation has been unofficially led by Sean Carter, not only the pursuit of lyrical mastery, but the manner in which the constituents conduct themselves as businessmen, fashion and the endeavors we care to venture down and ultimately the cultural relevancy of elements to hip hop. As Jay Z continues to disseminate hip hop's fifth element, "knowledge", his lyrical assault on our ears is heavily saturated with knowledge for those who dare decipher the stories of his life experiences delivered through his music.
As Part II of my presentation titled "Hip Hop Inspired Architecture and Design" at University of Wisconsin Madison, I wanted to awaken the students senses to the content behind Jay Z's "Picasso Baby". Similar to his other songs, its not hard for the students to recite the lyrics, but far too many have limited knowledge about the topics being described in those lyrics. I took the students on a journey that I hope they will never forget.
Read MoreWu-Tang Rapper GZA Delivers TED Talk About Science Education
It's widely accepted that the fifth element of hip hop is knowledge, added to its original four core elements, DJin', MCin', Breakin' And Graffiti. Following the path of the core elements, knowledge is also a tree with various branches allowing for multiple levels of involvement. From architecture and engineering to medical research, the knowledge element has a boundless reach which will propel our next generation to new academic and profession heights. Take a look as GZA also know as The Genius, of Wu-Tang delivers a inspiring TED Talk about science education.
Hip Hop Inspired Architecture and Design Lecture - Michael Ford
Mike Ford Takes Hip Hop Architecture to University of Wisconsin
On February 24, 2014 I took the UW students on an architectural journey which allowed them to discover how the notion of remixing and re-appropriating architectural theories and visions resulted in the unintentional creation of the physical, sociological, political and economical environments which not only prompted, but also predicted the birth of hip hop culture. I must note that these were not architectural students, the attendees represented a broad swath of academic programs offered at University of Wisconsin. A number of them are a part of University of Wisconsin's First Wave program, the largest publicly funded hip hop arts program at any institution in the nation. A full-tuition First Wave scholarship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is named after the legendary pioneer for women in hip-hop, MC Lyte! She is an avid supporter of the program, she announced the first scholarship recipient at a BET Awards Show.
Read MoreHip Hop Book of The Week - Pharrell: Places and Spaces I've Been
With the current buzz surrounding AIA's (American Institute of Architects) announcement of Pharrell Williams as one of the keynote speakers at the 2014 AIA National Convention in Chicago, I had to give everyone a quick review of his book, "Pharrell: Places and Spaces I've Been".
Read MorePicasso's Cubism Inspired by African Art - Picasso Baby
Picasso's introduction to the hip hop community during many of Jay Z's lyrics and most notably, his song, "Picasso Baby" is just the latest node in the constant cyclical nature of black artistry merged with mainstream art movements. . Nadeen Pennisi of Palm Beech State College identifies the specific inspirations for Picasso's first work of Cubism, Les Demoiselles d'Avignon, as copper covered reliquary figures from the Bakota (a.k.a. Kota) people of African state of Gabon and masks from the Dan people from the Ivory Coast. If not for Picasso's introduction to African Art, would Cubism exist?
Read MoreNotes From a College Dropout's Design Dialogues
Herzog, half of Pritzker-winning design team Herzog & de Meuron, participated in a conversation moderated by Obrist with Kanye West about architecture and design Miami’s Design District.
Read MoreSurvey - Hip Hop Architecture
Hello,
I am writing an article which will be published in a popular hip hop journal, the article will create links between everyone that has studied the concept of hip hop architecture in any capacity. If you would like to be included in the publication and have your research included in the infographics that I create, please fill out the form below.
Feel free to ask me any questions that you may have.
Photo by: Bradlee Bertram and Michael Ford - Jeff Chang's Can't Stop Won't Stop
Hip Hop Book of The Week
If you haven't read Jeff Chang's "Can't Stop Won't Stop" you are missing out on an amazing piece on the history of the hip hop generation. Chang delivers one of the most comprehensive pieces available depicting hip hop's growth from its infancy in the South Bronx to its global recognition. In his book, among other things, Chang describes the construction of the Cross Bronx Expressway by Robert Moses as a pivotal moment leading to the creation of the environments which would eventually birth hip hop.
Grab you a copy here.
Rolling Stone - Kanye West Talks Design at Harvard
With his Yeezus tour all fine-tuned, Kanye West took a moment yesterday to stop by Harvard's Graduate School of Design and talk about one of his favorite subjects besides himself: creating. The surprise mini-lecture found Kanye sharing his thoughts on a few different subjects, with a persistent theme emerging that he sees everything as "architected."
"I really do believe the world can be saved by design," he said. "If I sit down and talk to Oprah for two hours, the conversation is about realization, self-realization and seeing your creativity happen in front of you." He then spoke about office jobs, politicians, creativity, and how he appreciated that his audience, the Harvard students, are not lazy.
Everyone in the room was offered free tickets to that evening's show – but West preempted their judgments with just a bit of soul baring. "I'm a bit self-concious because I'm showing it to architects," he said. "It's an expression of emotion."
Originally posted here on Rolling Stone.
Quote of the Day
“I call architecture frozen music.”
Goethe’s statement about architecture serves as a foundation upon
which to convert music from an immaterial/ psychological state into a
tangible physical environment. Essentially creating spaces totally
inspired by music, in the case of my research, hip hop music.
KRS One - Image courtesy of Digitaljournal.com
Quote of the Day
“It seems that hip hop’s only real challenge, even problem, is that it lacks an awareness of itself. This is the ultimate state of hip hop at the present moment. It doesn’t know that it is what it is. For when we collectively realize that we are hip hop and that hip hop is beyond entertainment, then this subject and many other hip hop preservation subjects will become obvious and we shall birth a new nation!”
KRS One - The Hip Hop Declaration of Peace