AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of the birth of Hip-Hop, and one local podcast is doing its part to celebrate this major milestone, which includes the Godfather of Soul and his contributions.
WJBF DIGITAL sits down with Selah Guru, the founder and the owner of the Boom Bap Hour Podcast.
Thank you for joining us here on WJBF DIGITAL. Now can you please tell us a little bit about yourself?
Well, actually, I was born in Harlem, New York and raised down here in Augusta, Georgia, and I just love hip hop, you know?
So, what brought you from Harlem to Augusta?
Oh, my mother. My mother found the job down here. Well, she was looking in California at first. She was doing nursing, and she ended up doing the health department down here in Augusta, Georgia. She used to work down at the health department. She just brought us down, and ever since, we’ve been down here.
Now, we mentioned that you are the owner and founder of the Boom Bap Hour Podcast. Can you please tell us about your podcast?
I started our podcast in 2016, and I had this idea starting with blogging and stuff like that. Basically, we’re just a podcast that deal with Hip-Hop from the core; we deal with all genre of music really. But you know, we just get down with what Hip-Hop really is about. So, we’re right here based in Augusta, Georgia. We’re here, and we hope that everybody will enjoy us. We’re on YouTube. You can find us at the Boom Bap Hour on Facebook and stuff like that. So, you know, pretty dope.
Now, you have an event coming up the “Barz 4 Ya Mind” concert series, which is honoring the 50th anniversary of Hip Hop. Can you tell us about this event, and what we can expect?
Well, basically, at this event, we have Positive K coming. He’s a legendary Hip-Hop artist. We have a couple of other artists that’s performing, too, and we decided to put together a Hip-Hop event for the 50th year of Hip-Hop to celebrate the anniversary of Hip-Hop. So, we just decided to celebrate right here in the home of James Brown because James Brown had a lot to do with it.
Speaking of James Brown, you guys recently presented an award for his daughter, Deanna Brown Thomas, with an award for James Brown’s contribution to Hip-Hop. So, how important was that award to give to her? And also, how important is James Brown to Hip-Hop?
The award was very important because she told us that’s actually the first time that Hip-Hop honored James Brown with an award. So, it was very important to do that because James Brown contributed a lot with the breakbeats and stuff like that. He contributed a lot with Hip-Hop. Without James Brown, Hip-Hop wouldn’t even be where it’s at today. So, we definitely had to honor James Brown for what it’s worth. A lot of people don’t know that Hip-Hop started in the parks. Some people got the dates mixed up and stuff like that, but, all in all, it started. When it started, they used James Brown. They used a lot of James Brown breakbeats and stuff like that, and lo and behold, he’s right here in Augusta, Georgia.
So, in your opinion, how important is hip hop to the culture?
It is very important. Hip-Hop is very important to the culture. I mean, just think about it. Hip-Hop is everywhere. You know, you can’t turn your head left, right, front, or back without hearing something or have something to do with Hip-Hop. So, Hip-Hop is very, very important to the culture.
And in your opinion, what is the current state of Hip-Hop? How do you feel about where we are and where we’re going?
Well, lyrically, we could do better. We could do better lyrically because we have the youth, and that’s one thing James Brown was about. He was about his lyrics and supporting his people. So that’s one thing, you know, lyrically, we could do better. As far as it’s going commercial wise, it’s good because we can’t believe that Hip-Hop came this far. So, that’s one thing we just can’t believe. So, with that being said, we could just do better with treating each other better and saying it lyrically, spiritually and emotionally.
Now, once again, you have the “Barz 4 Ya Mind” concert series honoring the 50th anniversary of Hip-Hop. Where is it going to be? What date? And if people want to listen, how can they do so?
It’s at Grantski Records on August 11th, the birthday of Hip-Hop. You go on eventbrite.com and look up Grantski Records: 50th year of Hip-Hop anniversary, or you can go to our website, the Boom Bap Hour, or you can catch us on Facebook, or you can just come to the show at Grantski Records on Broad Street and just come and pay your ticket. Let’s have a good time. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.
