Baltimore Declares June Basketball & Hip Hop Month

Lebron James & Jay-Z

Baltimore, Maryland has become the first city to sign a “proclamation document” announcing June as National Basketball and Hip-Hop Culture Month.

Mayor Sheila Dixon (D) signed the proclamation earlier this week in Baltimore.

The recognition was spearheaded by Derrick E. Vaughan, founder of the non-profit organization that bears the title as the newly christened month (NBHHCM).

“It’s an honor and a privilege to have this Proclamation document for the past, present, and future individuals who have been and will be influenced by the fusion of hoops and Hip-Hop,” said Vaughan to AllHipHop.com in a prepared statement. “The recognition is historic for this generation.”

Vaughan’s organization prides itself on promoting the “history, legacy, and future of the hoops and Hip-Hop culture fusion in America.”

They reference 1984 as the beginning of the Hip-Hop-basketball fusion , citing the mix of basketball stars Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, and Hip-Hop’s emergence into the mainstream.

Baltimore and the NBHHCM kicked off this month with a June 1 “Tip-Off” celebration, the event was held downtown and featured rap, breaking, and graffiti performances from local acts B-Morsell, Raw Ned, Nitrus, and Butchie Mears.

Afterward, Mears’ artwork was dedicated to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of African American History and Culture. Rapper B-Morsell, AKA the Dunkadelic MC, created the first Hip-Hop song inspired by the event entitled “Dunkadelic TV Rap.”

Derrick Vaughan is hopeful news of the event’s success will spread, and prompt other cities will sign on to give their own unique interpretations.

“June is the perfect month for rappers to release songs for the Summer,” he stated. “I hope to see more songs dedicated to the hoops and Hip-Hop culture in the future.”

For more information on the National Basketball and Hip-Hop Culture Month, visit www.NBHHCM.org.