On Thursday a press conference was held at the Cleveland History Center ahead of the revival of the African American Heritage & Cultural Celebration and the honoring of Cleveland Hip Hop pioneer, Kevin “MC Chill” Heard with fellow Hip Hop pioneer and friend, Roxanne Shante as well as Councilman Kevin Conwell.
Chill is the first non-coastal rapper with a national hit and first non-New Yorker signed to a national record label, Fever Records. He started out in the early 80’s as Hip Hop was beginning to take form, and co-founded the Hip Hop group The Bomb Squad, who became the first Hip Hop group on Cleveland radio.
Chill served as a journalist for the Call and Post newspaper for over 25 years, is the president of the National Association of Black Journalists Cleveland chapter and a professor of Hip Hop History and Journalism at Case Western Reserve.
Chill’s relationship with the AAHCC bloomed in 1992, when Chill was asked to take over the entertainment for the event, which he continued to do until its hiatus. His friendship with Shante began a decade earlier when he was asked to pick her up from the airport.
Shante, a Hip Hop trailblazer in her own right and focus of Netflix’s “Roxanne, Roxanne,” biopic made it a priority to travel from New York to Cleveland to honor Chill, a longtime friend and peer. Shante emphasized the importance of celebrating camaraderie and “forty years of Hip Hop friendship” between the two.
“It’s about time,” was Shante’s reaction to hearing Chill would be honored. In light of the African American Heritage Cultural Celebration’s (AAHCC) revival as well as Chill’s legacy, she emphasized the importance of recovering and recounting our history. “If we don’t start telling our history, it becomes a mystery, and then they make things up.”
The two first met when as a fourteen-year-old Shante was creating buzz for her freestyle battle rapping abilities and she visited Cleveland. The year after, Chill came to New York after signing a deal with a New York record label, making him Cleveland’s first national recording artist.
Shante at fifteen was participating in the New Music Seminar’s “Battle for World Supremacy” MC competition. She’d been slated to freestyle battle rap against every other MC booked that night. A full night of domination came to an end as she recounted watching a judge ask, “What does it take for her to lose?” and giving her a four, sabotaging the competition and causing her to lose.
Shante described it as the night she fell out of love with Hip Hop, a moment caught on camera by Chill in the audience, as he captured a fifteen-year-old Shante with her head hanging in distraught and betrayal by the musical movement that had changed her life. Chill had captured Hip Hop history, and a pivotal part in Shante’s legacy, a testament to their longstanding friendship through victory and loss. Chill comforted her afterward saying, “‘Don’t worry, you gon’ be better than all of them. Watch.’”
Councilman Conwell also shared a few anecdotes about Chill, as he was Chill’s first drummer during his time at Kent State University. He was kicked out from his dorm hall and moved to the music dorm halls, because of how much he practiced. He credited Chill with introducing him to Hip Hop, “You taught us about hip hop, because we were still playing John Coltrane!” Chill thanked Conwell, as he was the first politician to support the event.
The African American Heritage Cultural Celebration is set to return on August 21 and 22 with live entertainment, music and celebration of Northeast Ohio Black excellence.