Richmond is about to be electrified, not just from the bass lines but from May 27 to June 1; charged Up Fest is back, filled with purpose, rhythm, and a message that's more than music. At the heart of it all, hip-hop is not a style but a positive force for healing, understanding, and lifting in the community.
While the sun sets on the festival's first day, Richmond's lyrical powerhouse Noah-O is dreaming and planning with a team of creatives behind Charged Up Fest, which aims to be anything but a traditional weeklong concert series. And it's a movement, a purposeful swirl of celebration and awareness. "Charged Up Fest is essential to me because it symbolizes hip-hop being used for good, a culture that can build a community, educate, and empower," explained Noah-O.
Opening with the Charged Up Impact Awards at the Black History Museum of Virginia, the Fest immediately spotlights the unsung heroes: the grassroots changemakers who are silently overturning the culture in significant ways. This moment grounds the week in gratitude and acknowledgment, establishing a tone for what follows.
One of the festival's most anticipated events gets heated the next day: "Leading the Charge: Mental Health & Hip-Hop." You can find this mix of street wisdom and academic insight only in Hip-Hop at Virginia Commonwealth University's Institute for Contemporary Art.
"Last year, we had an amazing free event with the producer Bink!, Kasim Peterson at Dream Chasers Records, and June Jones at Atlantic Records," Noah-O remembers. "We made a space where young artists and creatives could connect directly with people in the industry who are dug into Virginia," he added. It worked, and now it's kicking into overdrive.
This year's panel will kick off with some big guns: Grammy-nominated artist and Virginia-native Mad Skillz, Hip-Hop Studies professor at the University of Virginia AD Carson, and the visionary behind the legendary Lyricist Lounge Ant Marshall. But it isn't just the names of industry members that are popping up. Licensed mental health professionals will also take the stage, adding layers to a conversation Hip-Hop has skimmed but hardly dove into so candidly.
And that's the magic of Charged Up Fest, but it doesn't just invite you to turn up; it invites you to tune in. It's a landscape where beats intersect with breakthroughs, and bars contain punch lines and purpose. At a time when the music industry and our communities are desperately looking for some more profound meaning and connection, here comes this Richmond-born festival offering something real: a reminder that Hip-Hop, at its heart, has always been more than music.
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