Amina Norman-Hawkins is a writer, performing artist, filmmaker, and hip-hop activist who has spent the past 15 years actively involved in the advancement of Chicago’s hip-hop culture and community. Amina is Executive Director of Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative, a not-for profit community development arts organization; and Co-Founder of Chicago Hip-Hop Heritage Month, an officially recognized annual observance since 2003 that celebrates Chicago’s local hip-hop arts and community throughout the entire month of July.
She’s also a respected emcee, poet, and founding member of Urbanized Music, a production duo of Amina & Coolout Chris, and collective of Chicago-based true school artists who’ve performed internationally promoting the aesthetics of hip-hop culture over media hype.
In 2006, she co-created ‘B-Girl Power’, an all-inclusive movement to celebrate, empower, and promote true representations of women in hip-hop, and push to control the exploitation of female images in the media.
Recently selected to serve as a United States Cultural Envoy, Amina spent the first 2 weeks of August 2010 leading a team of 3 hip-hop artists from Chicago as they toured 7 regions in the West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire. They performed, conducted workshops, met local artists and helped foster an understanding of American culture while encouraging young people to use hip-hop progressively. This assignment was chronicled in the independently produced documentary Keep It Moving-Chicago to Cote d’Ivoire (April ‘11), which premiered to much acclaim in the Chicago International Movies & Music Festival. The exchange gave birth to the creation of the Cote d’Ivoire Hip-Hop Initiative, a registered NGO, committed to the same as their sister group in Chicago.
Amina is one of the internationally recognized voices of grassroots hip-hop activism, community empowerment, and women at the forefront of change. She is currently touring the U.S., and promoting what she calls ‘a renaissance of hip-hop around the globe’.
Angela "Ang13 (13)" Zone is a veteran in Hip-Hop. From the age of 13, when it all started for her, she has gone from break-dancer, to graffiti writer, to emcee / producer. 13 also knows her way around a pair of technique turntables so there is no aspect of Hip- Hop that she does not know.
She's received accolades in magazines such as "The Source" being named one of the undergrounds "best kept secretes" and countless write-ups in The Chicago Tribune, ("Reigning Women in Hip- Hop", M. McCormick) "Midwest Rap Gap" Upski Wimsap, "Hip Hop for Hunger", D. Jakubiak), The Chicago Sun-Times, Caught in the Middle Magazine, Humble Quest, Route 2000, The Chicago Defender, The Reader, and Chi-Rock Magazine. She is one of the most respected icons in Mid West Hip Hop, dubbed a legend. Her music has graced such project as, The 2000 Census, Nike Mix CD, Sprite Mix Tape, Chicago Rocks, The 50 Man Cipher(Rec Center), Chicago vs. New York along with her own solo EP "Phat as Yo' Mama" which sold 7,000 in one month.Her music is featured on the Jurassic 5 "Power in Numbers" DVD (Interscope), and her single "Oh No" is featured on Chali2na's (J5) "Fish Market Mix CD" (2004) "Hype 2 Nite" is featured on the "Lock Shit Down" EP (2010) with Talib Qwali, "Focus Up" is featured on the "Fish Market 2 Mix CD" (2010). Her songs can be found on movie sound tracks for Chicago Over Coat 2008 and B-Girl 2009. She is 2007 Columbia College, Women and Gender fellowship recipient for the Wonda Woman Project Zero Tolerance Tour which took on the challenge to reconstruct the negative image of all women in the hip hop culture. In 2010, she was sent by the United States Government to Cote d'Ivoire, with the Chicago Hip Hop Initiative to as part of the Cultural Envoy Program.
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