"The real hip hop is over here"…Timmy Grins of the Hip Hop group ARCANE and DJ P-Funk of QBEATS have quietly been holding down THE ELEMENTS PARTY, the longest running monthly Hip Hop event in Greater Baltimore. Each month they carefully craft an event unlike any other in existence in the greater Maryland area. It's an appropriately named, monthly celebration of the four cornerstone "Elements" of Hip Hop culture: MCing, DJing, Breakdancing, and Graffitti. Each month within the confines of The Ottobar or other Baltimore area venue, you'll find an evening devoted to those that have been practicing for years, honing skills that most have thought no longer existed.

"I used to love her, ah uh ah"…As you walk towards the main entrance of the club you are greeted by the aroma of some of the finest spray paints that have been manufactured. Your senses are guided from nose to sight as you focus on some pieces of artwork being carefully concocted by some of the most under represented painters in Baltimore. It is their colorful graffiti art that sets the stage for the welcome sounds of the DJ working the wax. The first element, the DJ, is the conduit for a seamless night as they are selecting tracks that contain music that makes you think, feel, and move. It's commonplace throughout the evening to witness breathtaking acts of human body movements only associated with that of a seasoned b-boy or b-girl. These incredible ciphers of positive vibes are accentuated by headspins, backspins, windmills and unreal footwork displayed by regional and local talents like the Deadly Venoms, Dutch Masterz, Kombined Styles and Pure Energy crews. Your ears are treated to some of the hardest working wordsmiths the area has spawned and some of the most notable underground, independent artists to date. MC's like Immortal Technique, Breez Evahflowin, Ogun, Great Mindz, Major Noise, Kross, Third Kind, Proton, Lunchroom Heroes, Lord Cyrus, Ritual, Arcane and many more rock microphones over crackling snares, pounding basslines and beautifully managed samples giving the avid hip hop listener the feeling they're at home again. To better showcase "whos' next" in Hop Hop, Grins and P-Funk have booked nationally known headliners the likes of Slick Rick, Brand Nubian, Kool G Rap, Gza, M.O.P., Scratch (from The Roots), Pharoahe Monch, Blacksheep, Planet Asia & many more to draw larger audiences who support the cause. Welcome to THE ELEMENTS PARTY!

"Don't front, you know I gotcha open"…Timmy Grins and P-Funk were speaking one early summer afternoon eighteen months ago when their conversation subject matter gravitated, as it often had in the past, to the question "where is the real Hip Hop in Baltimore?" The two of them had spoken at length on the topic and always encountered the same obstacles: a city who's musical backbone was imbedded with "Baltimore Club" music, a complete lack of support from media outlets like radio and print, an ignorance by club owners who's only exposure to Hip Hop was the perp walks so brazenly covered by media or the violent and drug infested images portrayed by the majority of videos aired on MTV and BET and finally a Hip Hop scene without any real independent following. So, Grins and P-Funk took to the streets, college campuses, malls, basically wherever Hip Hoppers dwell. Armed with 5000 full color fliers and a supporting cast of people who believed in creating something worthwhile, lasting and positively oriented, (the sides of the culture that had gone underground), they sought to display the Hip Hop that apparently never quite hit the mainstream media radar anymore. They morally decided to implement this without the assistance of liquor and/or cigarette sponsorships to enhance the positive message when including Hip Hop enthusiasts and newcomers of all ages. They went searching throughout the community for breakers, graf writers, MC's and DJ's who shared the same preservation of the essence of Hip Hop.

"Yes, yes ya'll ya don't stop"…Now, two and a half years later, there's a Hip Hop event imbedded in the soul and soil of the Greater Baltimore area. THE ELEMENTS PARTY is a successful monthly showcase for all the artists that have been grinding to create a name for themselves in this presently saturated world of commercialized Hip Hop. It is an event that continues to run itself without any conflict among the party goers. This fact alone is direct backlash to the hundreds of bars and clubs in the city that promote nights of excessive alcoholic consumption and result with police dragging out people in handcuffs. It is those same club owners that tremble at the thought and stereotype of Hip Hop in their clubs. It is a standing testament to all those that continue to cast Hip Hop as trouble in the making or an irrelevant form of true expression. In short, you are able to groove to good music, mix with a wide range of nationalities and witness the beauty of Hip Hop culture and artists without being subjected to fear of violence. It's Hip Hop, it's THE ELEMENTS PARTY, and every month I will be checking the listings at ElementsParty.com and SpitHotter.com for the date that Baltimore's premier underground HipHop event is holding its gathering.