Join us for an interactive conversation with Artist-in-Residence Tyson Hall with special guest Martha Diaz, archivist, curator, and Hip Hop Education Center Founder.

“Hip Jazz Hop” will celebrate the 50th Year of Hip Hop by exploring the interconnection between Jazz and Hip Hop with an interactive conversation on how these two genres complement each other with similar historical and cultural contexts. The influence of both played an important factor in setting trends in American culture and beyond. Hip Hop is often referenced as the child of Jazz, music created from oppression that crossed all social and political boundaries.

The ground-breaking project that exposes the connection between the two genres was Guru’s Jazzmatazz, Vol. I. released in 1993. Several projects pre-dated this release and many others after that fused the musical styles; Tribe Called Quest, Digable Planets, De La Soul, The Roots, and Madlib – to name a few.

Martha Diaz (MD) is an award-winning community organizer, media producer, archivist, curator, educator, and founder of the Hip-Hop Education Center. Martha Diaz has traversed the Hip-Hop entertainment industry, the public arts and education sector, and the academy over the past 30 years. Through her exhibitions, and publications of research reports, books, and curricula, she has chronicled Hip-Hop history to preserve its cultural value and memory. MD curated the first Hip-Hop movie series presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and served as a guest curator at the Museum of the Moving Image and The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. https://marthadiaz.com/

Tyson Hall is July 2023 Artist-in-Residence at The National Jazz Museum in Harlem. Tyson, a Harlemite and native New Yorker, is a fine artist and classically trained actor with over 20 years of experience. Tyson’s acting chops include playing “Sam” in the hit show “Power Book III: Raising Kanan,” “The Vein” in the hit series “The Godfather of Harlem” and “Slim” in the indie film titled “The Pimp,” in which he co‑starred with the late rapper “DMX.” Tyson Hall uses his artistic abilities and talent to educate, motivate and inspire. He feels that his responsibility is to bring vision to current and historical cultural values, in mediums that allow viewers to identify with a perspective that relates to their own lives or to the lives of others. https://jmih.org/event/july-artist-in-residence-tyson-hall-a-life-of-improvisation/

Current & Upcoming Events