By Natalie Ferrigno The Lion’s Jam 91, currently the only all-hip hop radio show in Centre County, is ranked only below Indie 500 among the top shows on station according to Staff Head Boshra Gheoprael. Gheoprael said Jam 91 gets a lot of calls from locals, as well as people from out of the area, some from as far as New York and New Jersey. He added that they have a decent following from Rockview Prison in Bellefonte. Yet, local artists are struggling to build and maintain a hip hop scene. Artist and State College resident Neil Curtis remembered when Players (now Indigo) hosted hip hop artists and events nightly, including under-21 nights. “It was the spot for all the kids,” he said. “It was always packed.” Unfortunately, the club switched DJ companies and public interest decreased. Curtis now often participates in the only live, regular hip hop event at Jamaica Junction in State College. Two brothers who go by their stage names “LV” and “Avatar” host the monthly event. The battle, however, is uphill, not only due the lack of venues, but lack of interest in local music. Both he and his brother have had a hard time finding reliable artists to work with. Avatar said most bars are concerned about business and know cover bands attract big crowds. In fact, many have pushed out original acts in favor of cover bands. One of the explanations they offered is that people don’t want to be a part of something new in music anymore. Curtis agreed. “There’s no place else for hip hop. Nobody’s into it, nobody’s feeling it. They want to hear all these crappy beats they’ve been hearing for years,” he said, pointing out how other area clubs tend to play the same songs over and over again. He agreed that most people want to hear what’s familiar, not original music by local artists, and suggested that was a new trend. LV and Avatar also went to Players for rap battles and performances. However, the Crow Bar was the venue they remember best. Every night, musicians from all genres, from mainstream to local and including hip hop, would perform. But all that ended when the Cell Block bought out the Crow Bar. Curtis also said local artists are making their music at home and taking it out of the area due to the lack of interest and support here. “The lack of diversity in any radio station around here is just ridiculous,” he said, pointing out that local stations often play TLC’s “Waterfalls” with Lisa “Left Eye” Lopez’s rap edited out. However, he has noticed Jam 91 occasionally playing older and more obscure hip hop. Many at Penn State are trying to bring more live hip hop into the area, including organizing a battle of the bands, Gheoprael said. Two area festivals have already featured hip hop, including the local act Atlas Soundtrack at Moving On Festival last year. “I’d love to see more and more artists, both students and locals, especially for hip hop,” Gheoprael said. While most of the DJs play mainstream hip hop, they do sometimes pull older and rare tracks out of the vault, he said. The band Audio Imagery, made up of Penn State and South Hills graduates, has been featured on Jam 91. Guitarist George Webster said he thinks the scene here has always been lacking. “There hasn’t been a huge hip hop scene,” he said, pointing out that it is hard to tell sometimes, especially since his band has been at the forefront of Centre County hip hop in recent years. Vocalist Jason Browne said the hip hop scene consisted of Hip Hop Anonymous, an open mic night that used to happen in State College around the time Audio Imagery was forming in 2005. “That was when you had a community of people constantly getting together and collaborating and talking about different things and arguing about who was the best rapper or the best producer. [It was] back packers and gangster rappers alike. It was like a self-help hip hop session.” Audio Imagery tried to start it up again, but had trouble drawing an audience. Browne found this odd, considering that H.H.A. events could be spread out over weeks and huge crowds would show up every time. Webster suggested that H.H.A. couldn’t be revived because many of the artists that made it happen graduated from Penn State and moved on. He said it might be time to bring H.H.A. back. “The market’s here, we just need a place,” Webster said. The challenge for Audio Imagery comes from being an actual band, something that is unusual in the genre. “[Rappers and hip hop artists] have a harder time succeeding than, say, an original rock band because as soon as hip hop comes on they want to here a regular beat, they want the DJ to play a song,” said Browne. “People don’t follow hip hop groups like they follow rock groups.” Audio Imagery is one of the few hip hop bands around along with Roots and Gym Class Heroes. “We’re sort of in a league of our own, we have to kind of pave our own way,” Webster said. “We do some of what the rappers do and kind of what the rock people do. We try to mash that up and grab both crowds.” While artists like L.V. seem more focused on building the local scene, Audio Imagery has its sights set on stardom. “Ideally and honestly, this [State College] is a stepping stone to someplace else,” said Browne. He said Audio Imagery has played just about every place and at every festival they could in State College. They also intend to leave a legacy behind “Find Tomorrow,” a song they wrote for THON and released Nov. 15 with the help of producer Johnny Montagnese, known for his work with Destiny’s Child, Diana Ross, and Donna Summers. Local Hip Hop Acts Explain their Art Both LV and Curtis take a less conventional, more artistic approach to their work. “It’s deep to me. It’s more than just music,” said LV. “It’s self-expression and a way to get out my message, my beliefs, what I stand for.” LV said he likes to blend different genres of music into his music besides hip hop. His work also features social and political messages. “It’s like a pedestal or a stage [for me],” he said. His brother, Avatar, more of a producer, doesn’t see his work as any less artistic than writing and performing music. “It’s my life. It’s who I am,” he said. Curtis, trained in classical vocals, takes a less conventional and expected approach to his work. He also doesn’t stick to what’s expected of hip hop artists, often skipping on requests to freestyle. “I can’t, my brain doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t follow a straight path,” he said. “It’s all jumbled and mashed up.” While attending State High, Curtis also skipped out on making pop music like some of his fellow students did. “I grew up on Motown, the Doobie Brothers, Earth, Wind and Fire, all that stuff. Michael Jackson, Diana Ross. I could watch the ‘We Are the World’ video and pick out every single person at the age of 4,” he said. Instead, he began writing rap lyrics. Curtis also knows that he runs the risk of being labeled a gay rapper. “I’ve done blatantly, obviously gay material, but it wasn’t something that I focused on,” he said. “I’ve listened to a lot of gay rappers that market themselves as gay rappers,” said Curtis. “Most of the gay rappers I’ve heard, their flow is off, their lyrics are wack.” Also, he doesn’t want to be limited to just one audience. “I don’t see gender. I was never taught to see gender. I was never taught to see color. I was taught to see people,” he said. “I don’t like labels. Yeah, I’m gay, but that’s just me.”