At 9:19 p.m. on the first and third Friday of each month, youth rappers, DJs and community members gather in Durham’s CCB Plaza to celebrate the culture of hip-hop and create a space for self-expression during the Med City Cypher.

“It is a multiethnic, multigenerational opportunity for folks throughout Durham and beyond to share art with each other,” Pierce Freelon said. Freelon is the founder of Blackspace, the organization that runs the Cypher. According to its website, Blackspace offers free programming for Black youth centered around reconnecting with African culture.

The DJ who performed at the Sept. 6 cypher is a former Blackspace student who goes by the name DJ DJ the DJ.

DJ said he first became involved with Blackspace in 2019 and was initially focused on building experience and confidence within himself. He began playing beats for the Cypher, which Freelon described as an improvised street performance, in 2022.

“Seeing the community — especially the community of people of color — being free and being able to be themselves, I think, is a really great thing for the Cypher, and I’m glad I’m able to contribute to that in some way,” DJ said.

Jordan Davis, a fellow DJ and an audience member during the Sept. 6 Cypher, said that he met DJ recently and his excitement for the Cypher convinced Davis to attend.

“For me, young people doing something productive is better than not, you know what I mean?,” Davis asked. “And as a DJ, I’m automatically attracted to stuff like this.”

DJ said that his favorite part of the Cypher is the sense of community that is present when there’s a large turnout. At the Cyphers, participation is encouraged through a variety of chants and practices such as passing a dictionary around so members of the crowd can shout out words for rappers to include in their freestyle.

Davis said he made a point to get to the CCB Plaza by 9:19 p.m. to support the Med City Cypher. The start time is a nod to the city’s 919 area code, and the Cypher’s name comes from Durham’s nickname as the City of Medicine.

Freelon said that hip-hop culture was born in the Bronx, where DJs would hack into power lines to power their speakers during street celebrations. The Cypher honors this tradition by plugging into Durham’s power through an outlet at the plaza.

“We are a fledgling newcomer relative to, you know, the pantheon of hip-hop culture, but are definitely aligned with the values of hip-hop,” Freelon said.

The Blackspace website compares Durham to the Bronx in that both have underfunded schools and historical disinvestment in the Black and Latinx communities. It says that the Cypher creates a space for youth to grow their confidence, express themselves and “help the creative fires inside each of them radiate.”

The Sept. 6 Cypher was the last of 2024 as Blackspace pauses the event to grieve the death of Executive Director Kevin Joshua “Rowdy” Rowsey II. Blackspace has plans to resume the Cypher next spring.

Rowdy was the executive director for Blackspace, and he started the UNC Cypher while attending UNC-Chapel Hill before going on to teach emceeing, songwriting and entrepreneurship to the Durham youths he mentored.

“Especially in Durham, I think we have, you know, rich cultural heritage, and it’s really special to be able to celebrate and uplift that heritage and culture,” Freelon said. “Blackspace takes that work very seriously, and it’s been an honor to hold that space over the past seven years.”

 

Edited by Sarah Monoson