[061] Pabon's Personal Perspective On Hip-Hop History At MTSU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2010
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Gina Logue, 615-898-5081

PABON’S PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ON HIP-HOP HISTORY AT MTSU
‘PopMaster Fabel’ to Cover Urban Music Culture from Streets to Cinema

(MURFREESBORO) – Hip-hop dancer, choreographer, activist and historian Jorge “PopMaster Fabel” Pabon will show part of his new documentary “Apache Line: From Gangs to Hip-Hop” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 7, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. This event is free and open to the public.
The film, which will be followed by a question-and-answer period with Pabon, offers an insider’s view of the New York street culture that preceded what has come to be known as hip-hop. Afrika Bambaataa, T.KID 170 and INK 76 are among the icons interviewed in the movie.
“We scheduled this event especially because of the recent dialogue about gangs in the community, and we hope it will contribute to a positive conversation,” says Dr. Felicia Miyakawa, associate professor of musicology, assistant director of the MTSU School of Music and faculty adviser for the MTSU B-boy/B-Girl Club.
A native of Spanish Harlem in New York City, Pabon co-authored, co-directed and co-choreographed the first two hip-hop musicals ever, “So! What Happens Now?” and “Jam on the Groove.” He won the 1991 Bessie Award for choreography along with fellow members of the Rhythm Technicians and the Rock Steady crew.
Some of his dancing credits include Lincoln Center’s “Serious Fun!”; PBS’s “Great Performances 20th Anniversary Special”; the 1994 American-Japan Festival sponsored by the Smithsonian Institution; the 1983 and 1991 Kennedy Center Honors events.
Pabon served as a consultant, moderator, panelist and writer for “The Hip-Hop Nation: Roots, Rhyme and Rage,” an exhibit and conference at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1999. In 2001, he addressed delegates at the United Nations’ “Hip-Hop Conference for Peace.”
As adjunct professor at New York University, Pabon teaches movement in the Experimental Theater Wing of the college’s prestigious Tisch School of the Arts. In addition, he leads workshops and teaches master classes for numerous schools, universities, community groups and dance studios.
“He has been part of it since the beginning,” says Miyakawa. “He started as a writer, b-boy and DJ. He also gives us the benefit of a research-based perspective on hip-hop history. He’s a walking encyclopedia.”

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In addition to the documentary viewing, Pabon will speak to Miyakawa’s “Hip-Hop Music and Culture” class and will lead a b-boy/b-girl workshop during his time on campus. Video of Pabon in action is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsdZLGQMCpI and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQfGrz21kus.
Pabon’s visit to MTSU is sponsored by the Distinguished Lecture Fund, the MTSU School of Music, the Center for Popular Music and the Department of Recording Industry. For more information, contact Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@mtsu.edu.


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ATTENTION, MEDIA: For a jpeg photo of Jorge “PopMaster Fabel” Pabon, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.



With three Nobel Prize winners among its alumni and former faculty, Middle Tennessee State University confers master’s degrees in 10 areas, the Specialist in Education degree, the Doctor of Arts degree and the Doctor of Philosophy degree. MTSU is ranked among the top 100 public universities in the nation in the Forbes “America’s Best Colleges” 2009 survey.