The 4th ANNUAL KOTA HIP HOP FESTIVAL & SHOWCASE Performing Artists Include:
MC LYTE
Lyricist, pioneer, icon, veteran and entrepreneur could all be used to describe MC Lyte. One of the most prolific and well-respected female Hip Hop artists to ever bless the mic, MC Lyte has consistently found ways to reinvent herself musically, while expanding her resume and gaining new fans. Reared in Brooklyn, New York, she always has her finger on Hip Hop’s pulse. Many are familiar with her stellar music making skills, but over the course of her extensive career Lyte has ventured out to other avenues that have allowed her to show the world just how talented she truly is. MC Lyte first appeared on the scene in 1988 with her debut album Lyte As A Rock. At the tender age of 17 she began schooling other MCs in the art of rhyme, and since that time she has proven that greatness always prevails with a total of ten albums (9 plus a “GREATEST HITS”) to her credit. A pioneer in the industry, she opened the door for future female Hip Hop artists by daring to do what had never been done while doing something she loved. Lyte is the FIRST rap artist ever to perform at New York’s historic Carnegie Hall and the FIRST female rapper to ever receive a gold single. MC LYTE’s inspiring 1993 classic anthem, “Ruffneck,” was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rap Single. In fact, she was the FIRST female solo rapper ever nominated for a Grammy! Ten years later her 2003 album “Undaground Heat vol.1” hosted by Jamie Foxx, garnered this rap legend her second career Grammy nomination. It was released on her own label SGI/CMM. The single “Ride Wit Me” also received a BET Award nomination for Best Female Rap Performance. In 2006, MC Lyte became the first solo female rapper to be honored/inducted on VH-1’s HIPHOP HONORS! Lyte serves as a beautiful example that females can rock the mic just as good and oftentimes even better than a man! Lyte’s lyrical skills have also been tapped into by Hollywood. She co-wrote and performed the television theme songs for Fox’s “Dark Angel” and BET’s “Holla.”
STALLEY
In 2008, Stalley connected with Ohio DJ, Terry Urban on the mixtape release “Goin Ape” as well as toured opening for Mos Def. His 2nd project MadStalley: The Autobiography brought attention to his transition from small town griot to rap star. He’s since worked with brands like Nike, ESPN, 10Deep and Mishka. Currently, Stalley has been working with Creative Control, the media collective associated with Dame Dash, DD172 and fellow rap artist Curren$y. His recent release titled Lincoln Way Nights (Intelligent Trunk Music), Stalley carefully illustrates a typical night out on his popular hometown strip. He’s appeared on BET’s 106 and Park as a part of the Music Matters campaign and premiered his video for “SLAPP” on the countdown.
EPMD
Hailing from Long Island NY, EPMD's first album, Strictly Business, appeared in 1988, which featured the underground hit "Strictly Business," based on a sample of Eric Clapton's version of Bob Marley's "I Shot the Sheriff." Many critics cite this first album as the group's most influential. The group's brand of funk-fueled sample-heavy hip-hop proved to be a major force in the genre. Unlike old school hip hop, which was originally based on disco hits but eventually became more electronic, EPMD based its music mainly on lifting funk and rock breaks for samples and helped to popularize their usage, along with Marley Marl and Public Enemy. EPMD signed with Fresh/Sleeping Bag Records, which eventually released its debut album, Strictly Business, by electro funk pioneer Kurtis Mantronik. Propelled by several strong singles ("You Gots to Chill" and the album’s title track), the album was eventually certified gold, selling over 500,000 copies, as did 1989's follow-up,Unfinished Business.
TANYA MORGAN
Tanya Morgan was founded in 2003 when Von Pea and Donwill, already regular collaborators after having met on the okayplayer.com message board, decided to work on a full-length album together. Ilyas, who along with Donwill comprised a hip-hop duo known as Ilwill, joined the project as a third member, and producer Brickbeats was brought in to work on the album as well. Since Von Pea lived in Brooklyn and both Donwill and Ilyas lived in Cincinnati, the trio did much of the work on their first album by exchanging files across AOL Instant Messenger.
The group released the first MySpace-themed video for their single "We Be", and it went on to win MTVu's Freshman of the Week contest in July 2006. The "We Be" video was resultantly aired on channels such as MTV Jams, Much Music and nyctv's The Bridge.
Tanya Morgan has collaborated with hip-hop acts such as Nicolay, Fat Jon, 88 Keys and Drake. The group performed at Toronto's NXNE Festival with Nouveau Riche, and the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival with Ghostface Killah, Large Professor, Consequence, and others. Tanya Morgan is also a regular at New York's annual CMJ Festival.
Tanya Morgan was voted the winner of the "Show Us What You Got" Hip-Hop Artist Competition, held on October 25, 2007 at the Power Summit in Las Vegas, Nevada. They were also featured in XXL's "Chairman's Choice" in September 2008, and named in XXLMag.com's Top Ten Artists in July of the same year. 2008 also saw the release of their EP The Bridge. Most recently Tanya Morgan has recorded Brooklynati, an album and coinciding multi-media project released May 12, 2009 on Interdependent Media.
DJ KRATE DIGGA
As the head of The Mighty SoundChampz Crew, DJ Krate Digga uses his jazz, funk, reggae, and 
classical music influences to form new and interesting ways to listen to hip hop. Professionally trained in African and Caribbean percussion since the age of 8, Krate Digga incorporates polyrhythmic cadences with both traditional and non-traditional ingredients of music. Schooled in turntablism by Detroit's DJ Sicari while an undergrad at Kentucky State, Krate Digga went on to form the Mos Wanted Crew in 1997 with DJ Sicari, DJ Rod-Nice, and MC Mr. Mike. DJ Krate Digga was a founding member of The Usual Suspects DJ Crew (Columbus, 2006.)
Krate Digga is also continuing his ever diverse offerings of mixtapes with volume 18 of WKR8: Krate Digga Radio and volume 2 of his newest mix series, The Renaissance. DJ Krate Digga has released more than 60 solo mixtapes: WKR8, a sampling of the newest in international soul, reggae and hip hop, 19KR80s, a throwback series featuring R&B, pop rock and hip hop from the 80s, and The Blacklight, a sensual blend of classic and neo-soul ballads; just to name a few.
As a deejay, musician, and producer; Krate Digga shows no signs of letting up on his work ethic or creativity. Showing that the Midwest is also a place for soul as well as hip hop, when DJ Krate Digga is behind the wheels, the party is sure to be a hot one.
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The Akron Hip-Hop Showcase is an annual “edutainment” extravaganza designed to act as a springboard for the creation of a more appealing social
environment for the City’s young professional who grew-up influenced by Hip-Hop culture. Our main objective is to showcase Hip-Hop culture’s true essence through its original four elements of Djaying, Emceeing, Graffiti, and Break Dancing.
Other goals and objectives are:
1 - To help the City of Akron attract and retain young professionals inspired by Hip-Hop culture.
2 - Provide an opportunity for businesses to market their product/brand to thousands of consumers.
3 - To spotlight the original elements of Hip-Hop culture and pass it on to the next generation.
4 - To encourage young professionals to establish themselves as mentors & role models for the City of Akron’s youth.
5 - To raise awareness for various social issues and create a platform for community organizations.
6 - To serve as a springboard for the creation for a more appealing social environment for the City of Akron’s young professional demographic inspired by Hip-Hop culture.
