UCSC Press Release: Hip Hop artist to perform January 22

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January 12, 2000
Contact: Barbara McKenna (831) 459-2495; mckenna@cats.ucsc.edu
The hip Danny Hoch comes to UC Santa Cruz January 22
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SANTA CRUZ, CA-What do a billionaire rapper, a Cuban break dancer, a prison guard, and a young boy in physical therapy recovering from a gunshot wound have in common?
They all spring from the fertile mind of Danny Hoch. These characters and many others are part of Hoch's critically acclaimed one-man show, "Jails, Hospitals and Hip Hop," presented by the University of California, Santa Cruz's Arts & Lectures program on Saturday, January 22, in UCSC's Mainstage Theater. For tickets and more information,
Hoch was recently described as a "white boy with attitude" by Esquire magazine; and a New York Times critic called him "part sociologist, part moralist, and part super-chameleon." Both are apt descriptions for Hoch, who recreates a variety of characters from the inner city neighborhood of his youth with compelling force.
For the past 10 years Hoch has been performing solo on stages across the country. Hoch, who says he comes from "a long line of Lower East Side Jews," draws from his background to create the characters he portrays.
"Queens is the most multi-ethnic county in the world," Hoch explains. "There were people from 120 different countries living in the projects were I grew up." Also peopling his script are individuals he met during the afternoons he spent at the Bronx hospital where his mother, a speech pathologist, worked. With his chameleon-like powers, Hoch brings those characters to life in his show.
Along with his current show, which he is touring across the country, Hoch is the author of Some People. Also a one-man show, Some People, won a 1994 OBIE Award, was filmed as an HBO special and nominated for a 1996 Cable ACE Award. The texts of the two shows were published in 1998 by Villard Books as Jails, Hospitals, and Hip- Hop and Some People.
Hoch is a presence on the big screen as well. Jails will be released as a feature film this spring by Stratosphere Entertainment. Another project, the film White Boys, is due out soon on video. Hoch co- authored and starred in White Boys, which features appearances by such rap stars as Snoop Dog, Doug E. Fresh, and Bonz Malone.
The subtext to all of Hoch's work is Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop was born on the streets of inner city New York in the mid-1970s. The song credited with launching the Hip-Hop movement into the mainstream is the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." And, while Hip-Hop can refer to the music of rap, in the 20 years since it emerged it has evolved into an entire culture that incorporates performance arts (music and break dancing), visual arts (graffiti), fashion, and politics.
The signs that Hip-Hop has permeated American culture are everywhere. In November of 1999, Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum launched a major exhibition on the history of Hip- Hop. The billion-dollar industry of Hip-Hop is used to sell everything from Coke to designer clothes. And, perhaps most telling, in 1998, Hip-Hop emerged as the most popular music in America, outselling the previous favorite-country music-by a wide margin.
"Hip-Hop is the last culture of resistance at the end of the millennium," Hoch says. "Hip-Hop came to prominence ultimately during the Reagan presidency and was tremendously influenced by black culture. Even though it has been co-opted by popular culture, Hip-Hop is the movement that voices the demand for change."
Hoch, who was born in 1970, has been immersed in the culture basically since he got out of diapers. And his performances and writings resonate with his experience. "Hip-Hop is the future of language and culture in the multicultural society," Hoch writes. "It crosses all lines of color, race, economics, nationality and gender, and Hip-Hop still has something to say."
When it comes to performance, Hoch is hot-wired, passionate. He not only acts and writes, he spends a good amount of time teaching youth and performing in prisons. As impassioned as he is about his work, Hoch came close to missing his calling.
"When I was a teenager," he recalls, "I was caught up in what every inner city kid was caught up in at that time: graffiti, break dancing, petty crime." When an opportunity came up for Hoch to audition to attend a performing arts high school, his mother insisted that he try out. "She made me go, and I think that if I hadn't, well, I wouldn't be talking to you now," he laughs.
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January 12, 2000 Contact: Barbara McKenna (831) 459-2495; mckenna@cats.ucsc.edu The hip Danny Hoch comes to UC Santa Cruz January 22 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SANTA CRUZ, CA-What do a billionaire rapper, a Cuban break dancer, a prison guard, and a young boy in physical therapy recovering from a gunshot wound have in common? They all spring from the fertile mind of Danny Hoch. These characters and many others are part of Hoch's critically acclaimed one-man show, "Jails, Hospitals and Hip Hop," presented by the University of California, Santa Cruz's Arts & Lectures program on Saturday, January 22, in UCSC's Mainstage Theater. For tickets and more information, Hoch was recently described as a "white boy with attitude" by Esquire magazine; and a New York Times critic called him "part sociologist, part moralist, and part super-chameleon." Both are apt descriptions for Hoch, who recreates a variety of characters from the inner city neighborhood of his youth with compelling force. For the past 10 years Hoch has been performing solo on stages across the country. Hoch, who says he comes from "a long line of Lower East Side Jews," draws from his background to create the characters he portrays. "Queens is the most multi-ethnic county in the world," Hoch explains. "There were people from 120 different countries living in the projects were I grew up." Also peopling his script are individuals he met during the afternoons he spent at the Bronx hospital where his mother, a speech pathologist, worked. With his chameleon-like powers, Hoch brings those characters to life in his show. Along with his current show, which he is touring across the country, Hoch is the author of Some People. Also a one-man show, Some People, won a 1994 OBIE Award, was filmed as an HBO special and nominated for a 1996 Cable ACE Award. The texts of the two shows were published in 1998 by Villard Books as Jails, Hospitals, and Hip- Hop and Some People. Hoch is a presence on the big screen as well. Jails will be released as a feature film this spring by Stratosphere Entertainment. Another project, the film White Boys, is due out soon on video. Hoch co- authored and starred in White Boys, which features appearances by such rap stars as Snoop Dog, Doug E. Fresh, and Bonz Malone. The subtext to all of Hoch's work is Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop was born on the streets of inner city New York in the mid-1970s. The song credited with launching the Hip-Hop movement into the mainstream is the Sugar Hill Gang's "Rapper's Delight." And, while Hip-Hop can refer to the music of rap, in the 20 years since it emerged it has evolved into an entire culture that incorporates performance arts (music and break dancing), visual arts (graffiti), fashion, and politics. The signs that Hip-Hop has permeated American culture are everywhere. In November of 1999, Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum launched a major exhibition on the history of Hip- Hop. The billion-dollar industry of Hip-Hop is used to sell everything from Coke to designer clothes. And, perhaps most telling, in 1998, Hip-Hop emerged as the most popular music in America, outselling the previous favorite-country music-by a wide margin. "Hip-Hop is the last culture of resistance at the end of the millennium," Hoch says. "Hip-Hop came to prominence ultimately during the Reagan presidency and was tremendously influenced by black culture. Even though it has been co-opted by popular culture, Hip-Hop is the movement that voices the demand for change." Hoch, who was born in 1970, has been immersed in the culture basically since he got out of diapers. And his performances and writings resonate with his experience. "Hip-Hop is the future of language and culture in the multicultural society," Hoch writes. "It crosses all lines of color, race, economics, nationality and gender, and Hip-Hop still has something to say." When it comes to performance, Hoch is hot-wired, passionate. He not only acts and writes, he spends a good amount of time teaching youth and performing in prisons. As impassioned as he is about his work, Hoch came close to missing his calling. "When I was a teenager," he recalls, "I was caught up in what every inner city kid was caught up in at that time: graffiti, break dancing, petty crime." When an opportunity came up for Hoch to audition to attend a performing arts high school, his mother insisted that he try out. "She made me go, and I think that if I hadn't, well, I wouldn't be talking to you now," he laughs. #### Press Release Home \| Search Press Releases \| Press Release Archive \| Services for Journalists
	Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu