Gregory Hall is usually a fairly quiet place. Computer labs and classrooms for the College of Media fill much of the building, but one room came to life Tuesday night as a panel of artists discussed hip-hop leadership in post-civil rights America.

The event, hosted by the African American Cultural Center, featured guest speakers Toni Blackman, Davey D, Invincible and Oliver Wang, and shed light on the influence of hip-hop music in the 21st century and its role in social activism.

The lecture began with entertainment by a free-style rapper from the University’s WBML radio. Once the crowd loosened up, Will Patterson, associate director of the African American Cultural Center, called upon the guests to present their perspective on hip-hop in relation to President Barack Obama’s inauguration and how hip-hop will affect future social and political movements.

Bakari Kitwana, an author and lecturer, mediated the panel discussion and began by asking Davey D. how hip- hop became relevant to the electoral system.

“Hip-hop was political because people felt the need to express themselves,” Davey D. said.

He said there was a war against the youth in the 1970s. Although people didn’t believe youth could change anything by gathering at night to dance and rap, he said there was a way to translate their political expression in the form of votes.

“It will take us… energy to power this (political) movement,” Davey D. said.

The guest speakers agreed that hip-hop has impacted the media. Davey D. said that those who get to talk to the masses controls what goes on.

“Poor people don’t get to go on the radio,” Davey D. said.

“People who came from poor communities expressed themselves through rap and dance.”

Detroit-based artist Invincible said not only does the media cover up the issue of poverty and youth, but there are foreclosure issues in Detroit that are not adequately discussed.

She added that hip-hop plays a role overseas in countries such as Palestine.

“The Palestinian hip-hop movement is immense,” Invincible said. “They organize rallies, organize songs that have anthems. They use hip-hop as a way to bring kids together.”

Invincible was born in Champaign, Ill. and lived in both Israel and Palestine until age seven. She said she was affected by the social and political issues in Palestine.

Wang, a DJ and professor at the California State University at Long Beach, gave an Asian American perspective on the effects of the hip-hop movement in China.

“Hip-hop has influences globally,” Wang said. “China’s exposure to hip-hop is 20 years behind. It’s very different.

“It’s inspirational to see how hip-hop is seen as self-expression. If and when North Korea opens up, hip-hop will become a popular form of expression among the youth.”

Before the night moved into the question and answer session, Blackman answered Kitwana’s question about how to push people who don’t feel empowered by hip-hop.

“When we really look deep in the mirror, you probably won’t like what you see the first 25 times,” Blackman said. “It’s about getting to the core of self-love.”

As the night closed off, some audience members said they came to the panel discussion with an interest in hip-hop and to enrich topics discussed in their classes.

“I’m in Dance 340, and it’s for extra credit,” said Anna Ma, senior in LAS. “I’m also in Intro. to hip-hop and we’re talking about how it evolved.

“It started in New York. We talked about how hip- hop encompasses African aesthetics. And I like how hip-hop is fluid.”

Another student said that the panel discussion tied in perfectly with a hip-hop unit in a class she is currently taking.

“(This class) traces black dances from slavery to the period of hip-hop,” said April Nwatah, freshman in LAS.

“Today we got to the hip-hop unit, so this ties in directly with the lesson. It’s nice to hear dialogue and just open discussion instead of reading it from a book.”

Some students decided to come to support their passion for hip-hop.

“I’m a big hip-hop fan,” said Corey Dunn, freshman in LAS. “I was interested in what they wanted to say, what they thought was the state of hip-hop, how it evolved and where we have yet to go.”