In Our DNA: Hip House Red Carpet Premiere
Black Experience on Xfinity and 300 Studios Celebrate New Docuseries In Our DNA: Hip House
Black Experience on Xfinity and 300 Studios celebrated the new three-part docuseries In Our DNA: Hip House, with a red-carpet premiere event and panel discussion at the Hip-Hop Til Infinity Experience. The newly released docuseries examines the birth, evolution, and collision of Hip-Hop and House music and is available now exclusively on Comcast’s Black Experience on Xfinity channel, a first-of-its-kind destination of Black entertainment, featuring the ultimate in Black storytelling, and Xumo Play.
In Our DNA: Hip House was directed by Whitney Clinkscales. Executive producers include Keesha Boyd (Vice President of entertainment Emerging Products at Comcast), Kevin Liles (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 300 Elektra Entertainment), Derrick “D-Nice” Jones (DJ and Founder of Club Quarantine), Kelly G. (Head of Creative Content Strategy at 300 Studios), Nolan Baynes (General Manager of 300 Studios), Terry Hunter (3x GRAMMY–nominated DJ), Eric Welton (Chicago DJ and producer aka Emmaculate), DJ Spen (DJ and Producer), Malik K. Buie (Founder, RedSummer TV), and Eugene Caldwell (Eugenius Production).
The star-studded event kicked off with guests mingling throughout the 50 years of Hip-Hop exhibit amidst the photography of iconic music heroes on display throughout the venue. Shortly after, attendees viewed a 30-minute episode, which included content from all three parts of the docuseries. Legendary record executive and Chicago legend George Daniels stood in the auditorium aisles throughout the screening, too overcome with excitement to take a seat as he watched the House music origin story on full display, telling Liles, “I could not sit down watching this, it’s too good!”
Following the screening, Loren Hudson, Chief Diversity Officer, Comcast Cable, provided opening remarks before introducing and moderating the incredible lineup of panelists for the talkback conversation, which included the docuseries’ executive producers – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of 300 Elektra Entertainment Kevin Liles, Executive Producer and DJ (Founder of Club Quarantine) Derrick “D-Nice” Jones, 3x GRAMMY–nominated producer Terry Hunter, Head of Creative Content Strategy at 300 Studios Kelly G., and director Whitney Clinkscales. The impactful conversation featured an insightful look into the importance of the film, as they honed in on the themes of “Why this music genre and why this project?”
After the panel wrapped, Kevin Liles presented “legends gifting” awards, honoring Mike Dunn, Tyree Cooper, and Wayne Williams for their contributions to the Hip-Hop and House music movements. Dunn was unable to attend, so Hunter accepted the award on his behalf. Before guests migrated to the floor of the museum for the afterparty, they were treated to a surprise DJ set consisting of uptempo-fusion beats and Hip-hop music from Terry Hunter, Emmaculate, and Kelly G.
In Our DNA: Hip House examines the unique conditions in the 1970s and 1980s that birthed both the Hip-Hop and House Music movements, the collision of the two genres, the stars, the songs, and the movement that followed. The series will also spotlight the long-lasting impact on contemporary music, the paths that Hip-Hop and House ultimately took, as well as the massive financial disparity between “mainstream” music and the predominantly underground genres, and explore the future of the genre and the current shift in the music industry that is reigniting a demand and rediscovery of the genre, 50 years in the making.
Launched in 2021, Black Experience on Xfinity is a first-of-its-kind curated destination of Black entertainment, movies, TV shows, news, and much more, now featuring the largest curated independent Black film collection on demand, endorsed by the African American Film Critics Association. The Black Experience on Xfinity Channel proudly showcases the ultimate in Black storytelling from Black programming partners, and film studios, as well as original programming from emerging Black content creators and filmmakers.
Continue the conversation using the hashtag #HipHouse on social media.