Taipei, Feb. 14 (CNA) American poet and singer Toni Blackman, one of the most influential people in America's hip hop culture, is visiting Taiwan as the "U.S. hip hop ambassador" with her group Hip Hop Ensemble to give two free concerts and a lecture.
The visit is a part of the American Music Abroad Program arranged under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State in co-operation with the Lincoln Center and the last leg of the group's Asia tour, which has also included stops in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.
"The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) is bringing the `American hip hop ambassador' here to provide our Taiwan friends with a sample of modern day American hip hop culture, " said Nicholas Papp, Director of AIT's American Culture Center, which is organizing the events.
A Taipei concert will be held at the Taipei Metropolitan Hall Wednesday at 7:30 p.m., while a Kaohsiung concert will take place at the Sun Yat-sen Hall of the National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Known for her contagious stage presence, Blackman also published her first book, "Inner-Course, " in 2003. She is highly respected as the founder and director of Freestyle Union, a workshop that uses freestyling as a tool to encourage social responsibility. She has shared stage with famous artists such as Erykah Badu, Mos Def, The Roots and Wu Tang Clan.
Hip hop is a strong art form that extends to music, dance, poetry and visual arts, Blackman said in a press conference Tuesday. "It is not music, not DJ-ing, not rhyming. It's not beat, not windmill, not 12-inch vinyls, not 16-ounce cans of paint. It's a feeling. It's within, " she said.
Blackman encourages mainstream hip hop artists to shoulder more social responsibility to help the younger generation build positive perspectives on life.
Hip hop is a unique American phenomenon and cultural movement that originated in urban African American and Latino urban slums and ghettos in the South Bronx borough of New York City in the early 1970s.
The movement has the greatest impact on poor, young urban people and on others who feel they live on the frayed margins of society.