Peace, Love and Hip Hop Festival

SEPTEMBER 28^th– Peace, Love & Hip-Hop Festival was the main attraction this past weekend in Downtown San Jose. DJ Tempo and DJ Beneficial (a former KSJS DJ) were on the ones and twos sharing their love of Hip-Hop music with the local community. It was a fun filled day with the purpose to spread peace and love in the community, create unity and let music be the driving force that inspires people to make change.

Vendors filled St. James Park on a sunny, relaxin’ Sunday afternoon. The vendor Soldadera makes handmade jewelry and accessories for freedom fighters, lovers and creators. Funk Lab is a fashion label and production company all in one. Bully Fans is for the Bulldog lover. Apparel made by Bully Fans includes custom made dog collars to promote a positive image of the bulldog breed. Portions of the proceeds are donated to animal search and rescue. Other vendors present were De-Bug, a community based media collective from San Jose and Year Up Bay Area, which provides IT training, internships and other educational opportunities to 18-24 year olds with a high school degree or GED

Graffiti art surrounded the festivities, displaying up and coming local artists. The community was serenaded by local rappers and spoken word artists. But nothing put the cherry on top like the B-Boys and B-Girls of all ages hitting the stage. They presented various styles, such as poppin’ and whacking. A youth group from Hollister, CA came and shined a light on the positivity that Hip-Hop has had in their lives. This event was nothing but peace, love & Hip-Hop.

Essence Ruth-Noel Sellers, also known as Lady Ma, is a senior at San Jose State University. She is a Communication Studies major and is minoring in RTVF. She is an aspiring disk jockey. She loves to spend her time doing self-expression activities such as writing poetry/spoken word, dancing, singing, and theater arts.