Tucson hip-hop fans submitted 500 nominations in 26 categories for the second annual Tucson Hip Hop Awards, taking place Saturday, Sept. 16, at the Rialto Theatre.
Some 4,000 people cast votes for the 10 finalists in each category, said Tucson Hip Hop Awards founder and coordinator Jahmar “DJ Jahmar” Anthony.
The awards also will honor six Tucson hip-hop artists with lifetime achievement awards for their body of work and their impact on the community.
“The lifetime achievement award is based on who best represents Tucson hip-hop and how they have advanced others,” said Anthony, who selects the winners in that category. All other nominations and winners are voted by the community, beginning with the initial nominations on Facebook in February.
Anthony launched the Tucson Hip Hop Awards in spring 2022 as a way to recognize Tucson artists who were largely underrepresented in regional and statewide music awards.
A group of Tucson hip-hop artists pose for a picture at last year's inaugural Tucson Hip Hop Awards.
“A lot of times there really wasn’t a lot of representation, and when I would ask people why don’t you go (to the statewide awards), they would say, ‘Man, no one cares about Tucson,’” Anthony said. “I want Tucson to have their own thing. It’s just creating something cool for the city.”
All of the award winners and performers at Saturday’s all-ages show are from Tucson, Anthony said.
Here are the Lifetime Achievement Award winners:
Shug Jackson, the OG of Tucson’s rap and hip-hop scene, was the first Tucson rapper signed to a major label. He recorded “86 the Madness” on Def Jam in 1996. Today, the Tucson native, who also dabbles in acting and writing, has his own label, Nightstalker Entertainment.
Tio Harris and his brothers — Elvae and Cleveland Harris and DeJuan Massaqouiu — had a shot at a national label for their rap ensemble, Madlad Universe, but they turned it down. Harris, in a phone call last week, said he decided not to pursue the big label route.
Madlab went against the grain of 1980s-90s hip-hop, focusing on positive messages wrapped in inventive lyricism. The group is still making music today; their latest project dropped Sept. 8.
In addition to his music career, Harris, a longtime Tucson barber, is being honored for his years of mentoring young people, including African-American youths, through the Dunbar Barber Academy that he founded. He also launched Nation of Barbers and Beauty Academy, which has locations at 446 N. Campbell Ave. and 3232 N. Stone Ave. in Tucson and in Eloy and Phoenix.
“I kind of mentor a lot of the young African-American men in Tucson,” he said. “My rap name is Support.”
Reymon Murphy started his hip-hop career by chance when a stranger at a Tucson sandwich shop heard his voice and encouraged him to give music a shot. That 2008 encounter convinced the New York native to turn a visit with friends in Tucson into a permanent move and a career change, from arena football player to musician. The father of three’s journey since then has included being a member of Katie Haverly’s band Copper & Congress in 2016 and his own hip-hop band Street Blues Family, which will be performing at Saturday’s awards show.
James Owens, aka Runt, has been making music since he and his brother, Jason Owens (aka “Deeko”), formed Jivin Scientists with an assortment of friends in 1996. The ensemble dabbles in funk, soul, classic rock and old-school hip-hop and has been a mainstay at South by Southwest and other regional festivals for more than 20 years. Anthony said Owens is being honored not only for his performance career but for nurturing and supporting Tucson’s hip-hop community by booking shows at Thunder Canyon Brewery, where he is a bartender.
Praise Zenenga was instrumental in convincing the University of Arizona to expand its outreach and support for the Tucson hip-hop community. Zenenga heads the UA’s Africana Studies program, which offers a minor in hip-hop — the first university ever to offer a degree in hip-hop.
Reginald Kennedy, aka Swindoe, used to blast his music from a TV screen on his ice cream truck that he drove around the neighborhoods. Through his music and his entrepreneurial spirit, including his latest invention, the scalable screen printing system Fraqtals, Swindoe has “definitely paved the way for the youth of Tucson that this is a direction they can go,” Anthony said.
