Hip-hop hooray

With tents, graffiti animals and a cast of unique characters, the scene at this year's B-Girl Be Block Party at Intermedia Arts in south Minneapolis on Sept. 4 was certainly circus-like.

That was exactly the goal. The event, first held in 2005, was started by six local women musicians who wanted to honor the art form.

"The idea was to give a platform and a space for women hip-hop artists to come together to share, celebrate, learn and work together," said Theresa Sweetland, executive and artistic director of Intermedia Arts and a co-founder.

This year, they decided to have fun with the idea. "We started talking about if women in hip-hop are still considered an oddity, freak of the week or sideshow to the main event," Sweetland said.

So they created a carnival atmosphere and let women take center stage. The lineup incorporated all four core elements of hip-hop -- break dancing, DJ'ing, graffiti art and MC'ing.

Angel Adams entertained the audience with her "old-school hip-hop infused with jazz" dance to "Your Love" by Nicki Minaj. "I love the fact that [B-Girl Be] empowers women," she said. "I felt the music and the performance comes across better when you feel the music and hear it loud."

Sara Glassman • 612-673-7177