Featuring more than 60 talented youth on stage, Asian Media Access and LVY Foundation successfully presented the Generation Z Project show at the UMN Northrop Auditorium on February 11. With young stars such as Avery81st, Momoh Shiro and DJ Mickey Breeze, the show successfully demonstrated the power of young talent.
This stunning event featured more than 60 artists under 30 years old who presented different manifestations of the hip hop culture: rap music (oral), DJing (aural), break dance (physical) and graffiti art (visual), and street fashion to showcase the Next Big Thing in MN.
It opened up with the Patrick Henry High School’s Step Dance Team, and the Generation Z Project show was full of non-stop fun and surprising talents, one after another. LVY Foundation’s Youth Que and Asian Media Access’ Youth Nooshilon Vang took center stage as MCs; they threaded this variety show seamlessly together, and introduced the young but talented DJ Mickey Breeze to show off his skills. Taking the stage next was a series of hip hop dances presented by Zephonix – The Classroom, Girl Crus and Pokemon, and JW Dance 24/7 presented I Am Better – Missy Elliott, along with artistic director Jacob Waldo’s solo Joker.
The Factory BMX Stunt Riders amazed the audience with their jaw-dropping action stunts, followed by a series of singing performances, delivered powerfully by young singers Yeng, Karah and Nancy. The show headliners, Avery81st & The Loud Joints and Momoh Shiro, were amazing young rappers who came from the streets, but built their names on the hip-hop scene. Avery81st & The Loud Joints also opened shows for the hip-hop legend Big Daddy Kane, Sounds of blackness, Mac Irv and DLo.
Momoh Shiro had an even more surprising twist for the audience with a personal testimony on how he connected with the HOMI Group, and in little over three months, he had participated at virtual reality conferences and traveled all around the country to perform. He has gone from Momoh Cobain the thug street rapper to Momoh Shiro, a symbol to kids that you can get off the streets by building relationships with the right mentors.
The climax came with a breath-taking performance by the NRG group. Their eight members — Traejon Hodges, Nehmiah Lucas, Jeremey Paulson, Brandon Goodwin, Tin Tran, Darren Isaacson, Tymonte Brown and Brandon Tyrique — took turns showcasing their diverse locking and popping skills, truly taking B-Boy to the next level.
The finale was intentionally designed as a prom fashion show with young designers and Patrick Henry High Schoolers as the models to bring a different meaning beyond fashion, but taking fashion as an empowerment tool to support young women with different figures, who can all be proud of who they are, and all are beautiful in their own ways.
For more on Asian Media Access contact 612-376-7715 or amamedia@amamedia.org.
Submitted by Xianping He