BE the next DC Youth Poet Laureate!
Want to be the next DC Youth Poet Laureate? Click Here!
From Sifrs to Ciphers
WBL is taking you on a journey through Hip-Hop through its roots, all the way from Sifrs to Ciphers.
Life Looks Good On You
Fresh air & fresh gear- this Summer is looking good. Welcome to The Shop
Scratch, Sip, and Paint III
Wine, turntables, wine, graffiti, wine. Wine. Cop your ticket here !!
wine.
Get Chosen in the Academy
WBL Academy students learn how to create and make money for their time and effort. Enroll today.
Welcome Back to The Shop
We just put in major work revamping our shop. New gear, new publications, and brand new artwork.
Hip-Hop at Your Library
We’re expanding to Francis Gregory, Shaw, and Woodridge libraries. Click for more info!
DJ RBI Nominated for Best DJ!
Click here to make DJ RBI Washington City Paper’s Best DJ of 2016!
Congo Sanchez Nominated for Best Local Band!
Click here to make Congo Sanchez Washington City Paper’s Best Local Band of 2016 !
Asad “Ultra” Walker Nominated for Best Visual Artist!
Click here to make Academy teacher, Asad “Ultra” Walker Washington City Paper’s Best Visual Artist of 2016!
Marvin NYE
DC restaurant named after the infamous soul emulator, Marvin Gaye, is giving 25% of its New Years Eve ticket sales to WBL as a part of Give the Gift of Hip-Hop. Celebrate with the close of another year with the whole team that got you there while supporting DC’s best Hip-Hop nonprofit.
Be the FIRST Washington D.C. Youth Poet Laureate!
Lead history as a young writer committed to civic & community engagement, poetry & performance, human relations, diversity and education across Washington DC metro area. The Washington DC Youth Poet Laureate is a joint program of Urban Word NYC and Words Beats & Life (WBL) with support from Busboys and Poets, The DC Public Libraries, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a rapper, singer or poet. Anyone can be a leader. We’re accepting submissions from youth ages 14-19 from the DC Metro area to represent DC as the inaugural Washington DC Youth Poet Laureate.
12 Finalists will be chosen by a group of esteemed judges and be given the distinction of Washington DC Youth Poet Ambassador.
One teen will be honored with the title of Washington, a book publishing deal, and book tour. Click here to find out how!
Remixing the Art of Social Change: The Annual Teach-In
Remixing the Art of Social Change is an annual international Teach-In hosted by Words Beats & Life. Organizations, artists and scholars that utilize hip-hop culture come to the Teach-In to promote social change and advance how hip-hop makes that change last. 2015 marks Washington D.C.’s 8th year hosting the Teach-In, leading Chicago and San Francisco.
This year, WBL will organize a variety of panel discussions, film screenings, and workshops that build upon the efforts of the previous five DC Teach-Ins. The 2015 Teach-In will be November 12-13th at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a world renowned venue recognized as a cornerstone of the Washington D.C. arts & cultural community.
The Teach-In has featured a number of impactful figures including rapper/producer David Banner, Jeff Johnson of BET, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, editor of the Hip-Hop Reader, and Joan Morgan, author of When Chicken Heads Come to Roost. Other past participants include Detroit artist/activist Invincible and hip-hop pioneers Afrika Bambaataa, DJ Kool Herc, Kool DJ Red Alert, Popmaster Fabel and D.C.’s own DJ Kool. We have also featured authors such as Adam Mansbach, author of Rage is Back, Samuel Sidel, author of Hip-Hop Genius, and one of the Department of State’s first Hip-Hop Ambassadors, Ms. Toni Blackman, Jessica Care Moore, Fab Five Freddy, Sonya Sanchez and well-known hip-hop scholar, journalist and activist Bikari Kitwana. We are also proud to have hosted the D.C. premiere of “The New Muslim Cool” by Jennifer Maytorena Taylor, “Black August” by Dream Hampton and “Graffiti Fine Art” by new filmmaker Jared Levy.
Bum Rush the Boards 2015
Words, Beats & Life does chess and hip-hop better than ever! Bum Rush the Boards has opened up registration and invites every chess-head and future grandmaster to show off their skills in friendly competition and some hip-hop fun.
Think of all the references to chess you hear in hip-hop music. Wu-Tang Clan, Jay Z, Public Enemy, T.I., just to name a few, all reference the game. There’s a reason we started this in 2005 and it continues in 2015!
The annual event is on its 10th year and is gearing up to provide competition and give the participants a little background knowledge of the game and hip-hop culture. As many already know, the event is based off the connection between the two, the competitive spirit and the power to think smart. In both, one must think ahead of the game, be quick and precise, while being ready to accept any challenge.
Bum Rush will also feature S.T.E.M. (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) sessions in between games to create a diverse experience for all the attendees. Participants can take DJ lessons and learn how it connects to engineering, find out how the art of rap and science connect, discover the geometrics of breakdancing. There will also be an art display of our life-size custom designed chess pieces.
Last years players enjoyed a day of food, free shirts, and lots of fun. Watch footage from the 2012 event and then sign up to be at this years Bum Rush the Boards, Saturday, November 14, 2015 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Colombia Heights Recreational Center.
Register (Individuals)
Register (Teams)
Philanthrobeat: Queens Finest Edition
Celebrating twelve years of Words Beats & Life Inc. and nine years of decipher radio.
Featuring:DJ Jahsonic, DJ RBI, DJ 2-Tone Jones, DJ B Side
DJ Machete, Quartermaine and DJ Scientific!!!
Admission is free for all #WBLMVPs
Admission is free if you donate a jacket and half price if you bring two cans of soup.
General admission is $10.
(Buy in Advance) https://philanthobeatqueens.eventbrite.com/
It’s that time again. We are celebrating 12 years of young artists progressing academically and artistically, more public art creation, and more hip-hop organizations impacting communities around the world. Come celebrate our effort to push the envelope of what is possible through Hip-Hop. We are so fortunate to have some of the Districts most talented artists and youth participating in our programs. We have featured some of the worlds most amazing muralists, scholars, photographers and poets. This year three of our artists traveled to South Korea to do Hip-Hop workshops throughout the country.
Celebrate good work that is coming closer and closer to great every year. Come party like a philanthropist with music lovers, artists, scholars, activists and fans transforming individual lives and whole communities through Hip-Hop. #freethedjs
Have a look at what you missed at a past Philanthrobeats https://vimeo.com/39775350
Partners:
Diverse City Fund, We Act Radio, Capital Cause, & The Black Philanthropic Alliance. All in-kind donations being donated to Thrive DC.
