Everyone talks about improving race relations at the University of Virginia, but nobody does anything about it ... or do they? Fourth-year students Peter Saji and Debbie Camana decided that in the battle against self-segregation at U.Va., hip hop was an untried arrow in the quiver. The two students organized the well-attended Genesis 2:000 event last month that succeeded in crowding some 250 audience members and performers from diverse ethnic backgrounds into the Student Activities Building. "There's a lot of self-segregation at U.Va.," said Camana, "and we thought a DJ battle would bring people together."

Camana and Saji planned Genesis 2:000 to showcase the little-known but already multi-cultural hip hop scene. "I really hate self-segregation at U.Va.," said Saji. "We've got Turks, Koreans, Filipinos here at U.Va. and I go to all the parties. Hip hop is really popular and every party will play it at some point of the evening."

The two students, who often address self-segregation in their Cavalier Daily comic strip, "The Third Rail," decided to combine their love of hip hop culture with their desire to unify U.Va.'s diverse students. "We wanted an event that brought together a lot of ethnicities," said Camana.

They began an aggressive advertising campaign posting notices on websites, with fliers on grounds, and with handbills at parties. "We stayed up 'till three in the morning putting fliers up," said Camana. Saji added, "We put out interest emails on hip hop sites and emailed our friends at other schools. A lot of personal contacts." They also talked to groups like the Organization of Young Filipino Youth (OYFA) and Indian Student Association (ISA) to insure a mixed crowd.

The event was difficult to plan, in part because it was a new and unusual event for U.Va. "Nothing's ever been done like this before," said Camana. "I really wanted to do it," said Saji, "but it was a good thing I was a little naive this time because if I'd known how hard it was going to be to organize, I wouldn't have wanted to do it."

U.Va.'s breakdancing crew, run in part by Ray Caro, who also helps to run the Divine dance events, was typical of the evening's multi-ethnic style. Whites, blacks, and Filipinos competed together, dazzling the crowd with flips and spins. "We're self-taught," said Caro. "We just learned by watching videos."

Many of the performers at Genesis 2:000 were pleased at how the event brought something new to Charlottesville. DJ Fein, one of the competitors in the turntables competition, said ̉There's never been a DJ scene here before." Drawing a contrast between the evening's events and the dominant Charlottesville rock scene, he added, "It's nice to have a scene here besides Dave Matthews." Chris Rodriguez, founder of the DJ Club, a new CIO at U.Va., agreed: "Charlottesville is getting a bit more lively," he said.

Many of the local performers said they usually go outside of Charlottesville to find a hip hop scene. DJ S-handz, a Charlottesville native, said he "usually had to go to D.C." DJ Eyecon, another turntablist, and the crowd-thrilling breakdancer crew Lions of Zion, live in northern Virginia but travelled to Charlottesville to perform in Genesis 2:000.

The lack of hip hop events in Charlottesville has not been due to a lack of interest, though, but to a lack of venue. Divine, one of the most popular club events in Charlottesville, initially held its dance event at the Trax nightclub, approximately three blocks from U.Va. But problems lead Trax and Divine to part ways. "Divine moved from Trax because they said they couldn't play hip hop," Saji explained. "They didn't like the crowd hip hop brought in."

In an interview with 64 magazine, Dana Murphy, owner of Trax, explained her disdain for hip hop events: "We had rap here one night, and that was probably the worst night of my life. I think rap music brings a very violent crowd. Shockoe Bottom used to be a really cool place. I think that the Flood Zone when it became a dance club destroyed the whole atmosphere of Shockoe Bottom; it brought a whole different crowd down there that was very violent and very aggressive. I think the reason the Flood Zone had its demise was because they were bringing gangsta rap music. I'm not a fan of gangsta rap and I won't have it here."

Saji said Murphy's views were typical of the media and failed to appreciate the artistry involved. "Hip hop isn't all the killing the media shows it to be, it's an urban canvas. All the b-boys, the MCs, the DJs, this is their art, this is their passion." Camana hoped to disprove the image of violence with Genesis 2:000. "We wanted to show that we could get together and have fun without drinking," said Camana.

Saji and Camana were pleased with the results. "We're planning a sequel for next year," said Camana. "The Hereford Hip Hop Club also wants to do one." (The Hereford Hip Hop Club meets Tuesdays and Wednesdays in the Runk Green Room from 9:30 to 11 p.m.)

"Malik organized all the MCs. That was the favorite part of the evening. People just loved it when they just pointed at people in the audience and started rapping about what they were wearing, because you knew they were making it up off the top of their heads."

"We're glad everyone decided to come out and learn something new," said Saji.