AMINA NORMAN-HAWKINS
“An internationally recognized voice of grassroots hip-hop activism, Amina is a writer, performing artist, filmmaker, and hip-hop practitioner who has spent the past 15 years involved in the preservation of Chicago’s hip-hop culture and community. She is Director of Chicago Hip-Hop Initiative, a hip-hop community empowerment collaborative; 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 a 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.
Selected in 2010 to serve as a United States Cultural Envoy, Amina spent 2 weeks 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 experience was chronicled in the indie documentary "Keep It Moving-The Movie: Chicago Hip-Hop to Cote d’Ivoire". The film was edited & produced by Amina and premiered to much acclaim in the 2011 Chicago International Movies & Music Festival (CIMMFest). The exchange gave birth to the creation of the Cote d’Ivoire Hip-Hop Initiative, (CIHHI) a registered NGO, committed to the same goals and agendas as their sister group in Chicago.”