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A-tone, the Hip Hop Historian's Interests
General
Hip Hop Culture: DJing, MCing, Breaking and Graffiti(Aerosol Art/Writing); Hip Hop History; Basketball; Networking; Entrepreneurship; Mentoring; Classic Hip Hop,, Events; Hip Hop Lecture Tours; Booking of Classic Hip Hop,, Talent; Classic Hip Hop,, Artist Management
Music
Early Hip Hop; Golden Era Hip Hop; Funk; '70s Soul; '80s Dance; Any Music that has a Good Breakbeat (i.e., James Brown's "Funky Drummer", Billy Squire's "Big Beat", The Incredible Bongo Band's "Apache")
The Freshest Kids, The Matrix Trilogy, Independence Day, Wild Style, Style Wars, CB4, Beat Street, Pootie Tang, Breakin', The Spook Who Sat by the Door, Boomerang, Coming to America, The Five Masters of Death, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 7even, Office Space
Television
NCAA Basketball Tournament, Chapelle's Show, ESPN SportsCenter, Hip Hop Documentaries, Classic Hip Hop,, Videos
Books
Message to the Blackman, Fall of America, How to Eat to Live, Our Saviour Has Arrived, The Autobiography of Malcom X, 48 Laws of Power, Behold a Pale Horse, Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews, The Hidden History of Washington, DC, Yes, Yes, Y'all, The Beatles Anthology, Without Sanctuary, Sex and Race, The Holy Bible, The Glorious Qur'an, The Gospel of Barnabas, Stupid White Men, A Torchlight for America, Rich Dad Poor Dad, There's a God on the Mic
Heroes
Master Fard Muhammad, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Minister Farrakhan, Mom, Dad, Malcolm X, Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, all of the elders and freedom fighters of the poor, any individual that tells the Truth regardless to whom or what
Duke University
Durham,North Carolina
Graduated: 1992
Student status: Alumni
Major: African-American Studies w/a concentration in Computer Science
Minor: Duke doesn't have minors!
Clubs: Modern Black Mass Choir; Chess Club; BSA; DC DUBAC; Karamu (Black Drama Club)
1987 to 1992
Indian River High School
Frankford,Delaware
Graduated: 1987
Student status: Alumni
Major: College Prep
Clubs: Chorus, EKO, National Honor Society, Soccer, Boy's State, Close Up
Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, Cold Crush Brothers, Easy A.D., Treacherous Three, Kool Mo Dee, Doug E. Fresh, Public Enemy, Poor Righteous Teachers, Rakim, Whodini, Big Daddy Kane, GrandWizzard Theodore, UMCs, Jazzy Jeff, Biz Markie
Where: Universal Capeoira Angola Center 1351 U Street, NW (down the alley in back) Washington, DC 20001
Description:
Classic Hip Hop Club Jam. Cost: $5. All Ages. Featuring DJ Earth1ne on the decks and MC Enoch on the mic. Featuring the best Breakers and Funk Stylists from the DC Area. Check out Classic Hip Hop in its purest form. Peace, Love, Unity and Having Fun via the Arts of DJing, MCing, B-boying/B-girling and Writing (Graffiti). Please consider bringing a donation for Public Enemy's Professor Griff who suffered significant losses due to a fire at his home/studio/library. All proceeds above and beyond admission will be forwarded directly to Professor Griff.
E-mail: atone@classichiphopllc.com for more info or call 1-866-832-2756.
Born in Lewes, Delaware, A-tone consciously became a practitioner of Hip-Hop at the age of 12 in 1981 after being introduced to audio tapes from the early days of Hip Hop. He honed his B-boy skills at local junior high schools and the Berlin Multi-Purpose Center on the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Delaware. Progressing steadily, he won 2nd Place in a B-boy competition in Salisbury, MD in 1982.
During the early 80s, the Eastern Shore was burgeoning with different DJ crews that included: Disco Tizer, Force One, Grandmaster Funk, Omega Funk, Snead's Family Productions and many others. A-tone graduated from Indian River High School in Frankford, DE in 1987 and matriculated to Duke University.
During his college years, A-tone was originally known as Ant-Lïve, the Hip-Hop Historian because he always seemed to be able to pull little-known facts about Hip Hop Culture out during conversations. His "always-on" personality contributed to the "Lïve" in his name. While at Duke, he attended an African-American Dance History class in 1991 taught by Sally Sommer. She was impressed with A-tone's knowledge of the history of Breaking and was asked to participate in an Independent Study on Hip-Hop the following year.
During the 1992 Study, A-tone went to New York City and interviewed Rock Steady Crew's Crazy Legs of "Flashdance" and "Beat Street" fame. Next to be interviewed was the Cold Crush Brothers' Easy A.D. of "Wild Style" fame. Then, the Original DJ Jazzy Jay, who was instrumental in the creation PartyTime Records which later became Def Jam Records. He also produced A Tribe Called Quest's "The Low End Theory". A-tone's final interview of the study was with Grandmixer D.X.T. or D.S.T., who collaborated with Herbie Hancock on the classic recording, "Rockit".
A-tone graduated in May of 1992 from Duke with a Bachelor's degree majoring in African-American Studies with a Concentration in Computer Science. Eager to expand on his cultural and technical knowledge after college, A-tone moved to Washington, DC and began work as a Computer Technician at the National Endowment for the Arts. Soon after his move in May, 1992, A-tone expressed interest to Crazy Legs in starting a Washington D.C. chapter of the Rock Steady Crew. Legs, being loyal to the Universal Zulu Nation, the umbrella organization for Rock Steady, introduced A-tone to Afrika Bambaataa, the Godfather of Hip Hop and the founder of the UZN. A-tone, with the blessing of Bambaataa, collaborated with Double R and eventually became a DC Chapter Leader for the UZN in 1992. This experience led to a DC Area grassroots following that still serves A-tone well.
1993 became a pivotal year for A-tone. Sally Sommer, his former professor at Duke, again reached out to A-tone, which resulted in him becoming a presenter of Hip-Hop at the Washington Performing Arts Society's Percussive City Dance Festival in 1993. A-tone quickly took charge of the entire Hip Hop portion of the program, by writing an article for the sold-out shows' program guide and audtioning talent. During the auditions, A-tone chose local dancers FloMaster, Diamond, Wa-Wa and T-Money and DJ Young Guru to open up the show. The Rock Steady Crew, featuring Crazy Legs, Mr. Wiggles and Pee-Wee Dance, headlined the show. Having a true eye for talent, A-tone witnessed DJ Young Guru eventually become a studio engineer for Jay-Z, producing the record-breaking "Black Album". He also witnessed B-boy FloMaster join RSC by battling Legs. Flo then did a one-man show in Vegas and then moved on to the West Coast where he is still hugely popular as an in-demand dance talent. Flo appeared in music videos for Christina Aguilera and became Usher's personal trainer. The WPAS event drew widespread regional attention, with A-tone being quoted in the Style section of the Washington Post.
Another major presenting gig came in 1993 with the Smithsonian Institution's 1993 Festival of American Folklife. Staying true to form, A-tone immediately was tapped to organize the program. He recruited DJ D'Salaam, MC Nuborn, FloMaster, Diamond, Lobo and others to perform in front of a packed crowd under the largest tent on the National Mall. Another of his recruits for the event was former rapper Steph Lova who eventually became a radio personality for WPGC 95.5 and for Hot 97 in New York. She also was a video jockey for MTV2. One of A-tone's articles graces the pages of the official program for the 1993 Smithsonian Festival of American Folklife. He also wrote articles that were published in two other Smithsonian programs that featured the Rock Steady Crew, Rhythm Technicians and GhettOriginal Productions.
Later in 1993 and in 1994, A-tone wrote articles for a fledgling magazine called "YSB" or Young Sisters and Brothers on Hip Hop-related issues. While displaying his writing skills, A-tone, took the time to appear on stage with the Rock Steady Crew at a Kennedy Center performance. Another presenting opportunity came in 1994 with the Washington Perfoming Arts Society which featured Tracie Morris of the Nuyorican Poets and DJ D'Salaam. Yet another Hip Hop presentation for WPAS led by A-tone featured Storm the Unpredictable, Kokayi, Sub-Z (future members of the Plexus Crew and Opus Akoben) and DJ D'Salaam at the Gala Hispanic Theatre in the Adams-Morgan section of Washington, DC. DJ D'Salaam eventually built his own recording studio, Urban Intalek, and is part of the nominating committee for the Grammy Awards.
A-tone wed in 1994 and has two children. After the Million Man March in 1995, he was inspired to change his name from Ant-Lïve to A-tone, which references the concert "A" or 144 beats per second, that orchestra instruments tune up to before playing.
Continuing to express his love for Hip Hop Culture, History and Art, A-tone re-connected with Easy A.D. and formed Classic Hip Hop L.L.C. Their collaborations have resulted in two hugely successful Hip Hop Culture exhibits. One at the Schomburg Library for Research in Black Culture and the other at the Harlem YMCA. A-tone currently resides in the Washington, DC Area and is working on a book with A.D. on, what else? Hip Hop History. At the same time, A-tone and A.D. started the Classic Hip Hop Club,,, a membership organization and subsidiary of Classic Hip Hop L.L.C. They also opened a venue of the same name in Northwest Washington, DC that features DJ RBI, DJ Jav, DJ Dadeo, DJ Earth 1ne and local Breakers and Funk Stylists. A-tone's current project is an internet radio station dubbed Classic Hip Hop Radio,,, which runs 24/7 and features music from the Early Days and Golden Era of Hip Hop Culture. A-tone and A.D aspire to take Classic Hip Hop on the road in the near future with a college lecture tour and a series of Classic Hip Hop concerts. A Hip Hop purist through and through, A-tone continues to represent the positive aspects of Hip Hop History, Culture and Art in his daily life.
Who I'd like to meet: Like-minded individuals. Ones who will not sit around and complain but will get up and make a difference.
A-tone, the Hip Hop Historian's Friend Space (Top 40)
De-U love the kids...lol! Over 150k sold straight out of DC!!! Ask De-U.c.e. Double & E One Letter about me. Watch my new video with me and my friends Jay-Z, Nia Long, E One Letter, Irv Gotti, Zo, Nick Cannon, De-U.c.e. Double, Kevin Liles and many more!!!
As I am I want to embrace myself (AGE) who want's to be represented as a hip-hop icons rather than being listed as a emcee, breakdancer, or ect..because I wanna take it to the next level of hip-hop I will learn and try to be diversed among the roots of urban culture from suburbs to anywhere beyond our generation...
