African-American History Month: Hip Hop Culture (Rewind)

Mic Crenshaw, born on the Southside of Chicago, and raised both there and in Minneapolis, is a world class MC and poet who has emerged on the national and international stage. Beginning in ’94, Crenshaw was the front man for the beloved Portland live Hip Hop band, Hungry Mob. In 2001, Crenshaw won The Portland Poetry Slam Championship and went on to finish as a national finalist. In 2009, Mic released his debut solo CD, "Thinking Out Loud", which spent 10 weeks in the top 10 on College Music Journal’s (CMJ) National Radio Hip Hop Charts, peaking at number 4. Crenshaw’s 2nd solo release, ‘Under The Sun,’ was released in the winter of 2010. Single ‘Yeah’ peaked at #2 on CMJ’s Hip Hop Charts. Mic’s company Globalfam is now a full entertainment company, record label and lifestyle company in one. It houses and produces Crenshaw’s music. As well as, partners with the non-profit Education WithOut Borders (EWOB) to manage the community projects that Crensahw and Globalfam are involved in. Crenshaw now serves as EWOB’s President. EWOB helps education, music and art initiatives in Portland and their work in Africa, as well serving as an umbrella for the Portland Books For Prisoners Chapter. Crenshaw is currently the Political Director of Hip Hop Congress and the Lead U.S. Organizer for the Afrikan Hip Hop Caravan. Sergey Ivanov, a musician, DJ, MC, poet, independent researcher, and director of the DA EXIT NGO development director and head of the DA EXIT hip-hop education studio in Moscow. He has organized more than seven hip-hop exchange projects since 2014.