The First Annual Vermont Hip Hop Awards
Ladies and gentlemen, it's finally here.
Just over four months after the idea was first floated, it's time for the First Annual Vermont Hip Hop Awards. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has helped make this a reality with their good advice and hard work.
The Rundown
This is not another popularity contest about who can mobilize the biggest fanbase on social media. This is about the respect of your peers, chosen by a panel of over seventy voters who represent every generation of our ever-growing scene.
There will not be a physical awards ceremony this time around. Thanks to the uncertainty of ... well, no, the absolute certainty of Covid transmission rates skyrocketing through the middle of winter, we're going to take advantage of bad circumstances to do a "proof of concept" test run this year.
And we're going to use every lesson learned along the way to organize a proper party in January 2023 to celebrate all of 2022's winners.
The Roadmap
This is not jumping off right away; it's important to have some discussions about 2021's overflowing output first.
We're going to kick off the Nominations Round on Wednesday, January 12th, and that will run through Saturday, January 15th.
After tabulating the results over the weekend, the official ballots will be announced on Monday, January 17th. The ballots will consist of the top five nominations for each category, listed alphabetically. From there, the final winners will be chosen.
The Categories
Best Producer. For such a small state, we have a baffling abundance of creative, talented producers churning out whumping beats of all kinds. But who had the single best run in 2021? Whether it's delivering local artists dozens of crazy consistent bangers or putting out flawless instrumental projects, the focus here is on who has mastered their craft and racked up some serious output this past year.
Best Emcee. This category is about the most powerful and prolific microphone masters in Vermont. There have been a lot of legendary runs, but keep in mind, this is strictly about last year's output, in terms of both songs and shows, to the limited extent that shows actually happened in 2021. This leaves some room for the voters to decide how they conceive of the "emcee" to begin with: is this about commanding live performances, incredible rhyme writing, perfect takes in the studio, or some combination of all three?
Best Group. Whether it's established artists linking up to collaborate (like Cognac Cousins) or teams who built their names together (like 99 Neighbors), there are plenty of crews and collectives to choose from here. The question for this category is who among them absolutely dominated the past twelve months.
Best DJ. Like the Emcee category, the nominations here will very much depend on how you conceptualize DJs, here in the future. Does it come down to raw turntablism skills? Do you want to honor the radio hosts who have been holding it down for hip hop on the local radio waves? Or is it about who can run a sweaty, killer evening at the likes of Red Square and Club Metronome?
Best Graffiti Artist. Much to the chagrin of city officials and business owners, graf has been experiencing some record popularity around these parts. Sure, some of that is scribbles, but a lot of that is absolutely jaw-dropping art. There are also more legit venues, like the Anthill Collective's annual Above The Radar festival out on the BTV waterfront, which draws talent from far and wide. The question here is who has done the most for the artform.
Rookie of the Year. Who are the new arrivals who have distinguished themselves the most? Who embodies that rare combination of hard work and natural talent? For this category, feel free to fudge the numbers a bit: artists who started dropping material in 2020 are definitely still eligible for nomination in 2021.
Best Verse. In many ways, this might just be the single hardest category to call. Who dropped the single greatest sixteen (or twentyfour, or thirtytwo, or...) of 2021? From the writing to the delivery, what was the 802's finest performance in the booth all year? This is going to be an extremely divisive and competitive field, but only one emcee can walk away the winner.
Best Song. This decision is only slightly easier to make. Out of all the tracks coming out of our humble state, which one was the very best? Who managed to bottle that lightning with the most creative, thought provoking, intensely personal, or just plain dope song of the year? Apologies in advance for any headaches this once causes.
Best Album. Pound for pound, track for track, who delivered the best overall project in 2021? For this one, there are no stipulations on weight class, so if you think someone's five song EP was the gold standard, then by God, go ahead and vote for that perfect EP. "Albums" are very elastic things these days.
Best Music Video. Another ridiculously tight field, thanks to an explosion of talent behind the lens here in the Green Mountains. There have been about a dozen knockout, pro-grade, world class music videos this past year. Many of them have done big numbers, too, reaching way outside the confines of Vermont.
Finally, and perhaps most important, there is The Andy "A_DOG" Williams Good Citizen Award. This one is something special, created in cooperation with the awesome people at Friends For A_Dog foundation. This award exists to honor someone who is a positive force in their community, building connections and encouraging growth everywhere they go. That's a high bar, for sure, but we have many worthy contenders.
For the nominations round, you can list as many names as you want, but when it comes down to the final ballot, you'll have to pick just one.
Think it over. Talk it through. Get ready for Wednesday.
If you want to participate as a voter, it's not too late. Get in touch. UPDATE: Please note that the entire pool of voters are artists, promoters, venue owners, DJs, point people from arts non-profits — stakeholders, participants. You will get asked who you are and what you do; asking to participate is not a guarantee you’ll get a ballot. I apologize for this but being selective is important here.