Hip Hop

For the past three years, the local beat-makers at Darkroom Productions have brought national attention to Baltimore's hip-hop scene. Now, the duo of Jamal Roberts, 31, and Juan Donovan Bell, 32, is looking to make waves in the movie business. In early March, Bell will move to Los Angeles and open a film office, where he plans to produce feature films and further incorporate Darkroom Productions tracks onto movie soundtracks. It's a natural progression, Bell said. "The move is elementary, really," said Bell, a Baltimore native who still lives here.

Baltimore rapper Height gets by with a little help from his friends. A lot of help from a lot of friends, actually. Height, the hip-hop pseudonym for Dan Keech, worked with nine producers for his new album, Baltimore Highlands. The 12-track album was released in 12-inch vinyl record form this week on Wham City Records, and the CD release party is tomorrow at the Zodiac on Charles Street. But the collaboration doesn't end there. A dozen local and national indie musicians, including Video Hippos, Dan Deacon, Future Islands, Cex and Trey Told 'Em, remixed tracks from Baltimore Highlands.

Some people never find their life's calling. By the time she turned 13, Amanda Beale had three. Beale started taping radio shows on a karaoke machine at the age of 6, shooting video at 8 and recording music with her older brother's mixer a few years later. "I was never a one-job person," Beale said. Today, Beale, 27, channels her three passions into the local music scene. A consummate multitasker, she has embraced technology and become a pioneer in the local hip-hop community. Her childhood loves have blossomed into a full-time career as a recording studio owner, radio programmer and videographer.

The National Portrait Gallery in downtown Washington has definitely changed since its reopening in 2006. The formerly staid cultural fixture has moved into the 21st century with exhibits such as Recognize! Hip Hop and Contemporary Portraiture, which explores the world of hip-hop. The multimedia display is a far cry from the gallery's permanent portrait collection of U.S. presidents and military figures. This exhibit includes images of LL Cool J and Ice T; videos with urban themes; an installation that combines sculpture with poetry; and colorful graffiti, a pillar of hip-hop along with DJs, emcees and break dancing.

Nas Untitled Sun Grade: B- Oops, he did it again. Nas managed to get pop and hip-hop circles buzzing over an album title before a beat or rhyme could be heard from it. The last time the New York rapper did this was in 2006, when he declared in the title of his eighth CD Hip Hop is Dead. When Nas announced the original title for the follow-up (an all-too-familiar racial epithet of various usage), he fell under more scrutiny, as articles and urban music blogs tightly tracked the album's status.

There aren't many chances to watch the sun rise over the Key Bridge after taking part in an all-night dance party on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay. But that's what more than 4,000 electronica fans will be doing Saturday -- and Sunday morning -- at the 10th anniversary of the Starscape music festival. "The whole vibe of it was just incredible," said Clay Parnell of New York-based dance band Biodiesel about playing in last year's show. "Starscape is just one of those festivals where I was still there when the last notes were playing at 6:15 and still partying, even though I had been there for like 14 hours.

Both are edging close to 40. So it was fitting that Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z, two legendary figures in the youth-obsessed world of hip-hop, brought some grown-up class to Heart of the City, their joint national tour. The nearly three-hour show, which packed 1st Mariner Arena on Wednesday night, was grandly presented. But neither artist forsook the accessible, ghetto-fabulous elements that made each a superstar more than a decade ago. The two were backed by a Titanic band, which included a 12-piece horn-and-string section.

Mary J. Blige purportedly loves the woman she sees in the mirror these days. She's newly svelte and outfitted in designer gear from head to toe. She's strong with a bulletproof heart, reinvented - but still, she rarely smiles. Growing Pains, the title of Blige's new album, suggests that the hip-hop soul queen is still trying to find herself. But while chronicling her struggles in song, the artist is unshakably serious. She seemingly bulldozes through life's struggles, a little scarred but unbreakable.

At the moment when the beat dropped and a man's deep voice blared from the speakers, "Music makes you lose control!" the little girls in their sweats and sneakers turned into position. On an eight count they had learned an hour or so before, the 50 students inside the gymnasium at Randallstown High School yesterday morning followed the instructions of their teacher, acclaimed hip-hop choreographer and actor Darrin Henson. Arms slide. Head bob. Chests pop, to the left, to the right. Hands clap.

Hip-hop choreographer Honey Rockwell, who has appeared in videos with stars such as Kanye West and Will Smith, will lead a Hip-Hop Master Class Workshop on Saturday and March 9 at Marriotts Ridge High School to benefit the MRHS dance program spring trip. The Saturday workshop, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., is open to students in grades six to eight. The March 9 workshop, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m., is open to those of high school age or older. No dance experience is required. The cost is $40 for each workshop, which will be held at the dance studio at Marriotts Ridge, 12100 Woodford Drive, Marriottsville.