Charleston Wine + Food Festival (W+F) curates tunes as well as top notch wine, spirits and cuisine for the masses to enjoy. And 2023 is no different, because it will feature this year’s “Hip Hops: The Remix” event March 3 at Music Farm downtown.
The music event features Grammy-nominated Southern rap group Nappy Roots with Charleston-born DJ B-Lord on the turntables. Nappy Roots’ brewery Atlantucky collaborated with Charleston’s Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. to brew a special beer for the festival.
“Though W+F is wine centric, Charleston is a beer town,” said Cha McCoy, beverage director of Charleston Wine + Food Festival. “I wanted to use this platform as a way to highlight local breweries and connect with the Black community. We are focusing on the contribution the South has [made in] hip-hop, which is worth celebrating during this momentous year for the genre.”
Nappy Roots rapper Fish Scales told the City Paper that hip-hop can be a part of any American celebration.
“Hip-hop is such a great American story [and] is great music to party to,” Fish Scales said. “Nappy Roots has always tried to bring a positive experience to hip-hop. We were blessed to make music that transcends different generations. We always try to stay in the middle. Not too hard and not too soft. Something everyone can relate to.”
Last year W+F released its first “Hip Hops” event focused on ’80s old school hip-hop culture with breakdancers, graffiti wall murals and DJ battles.
“This year we have elevated the experience with ‘Hip Hop: The Remix” in honor of the 50th year anniversary of hip-hop culture, and are celebrating with Nappy Roots as they are also brewers and owners of Atlantucky,” McCoy said. “We are stoked to have connected them with Edmund’s Oast to make a collab beer for W+F’s 2023 festival.”
As W+F’s sommelier-at-large, McCoy said the annual festival is an avenue to not only celebrate the African-American food and beverage legacy, but also provide education and connection within the community to keep the legacy strong. She is particularly looking forward to this year’s bar takeovers and beverage workshops.
“This is where the magic happens and most of my programming is centered around introducing the consumer to trends in the beverage industry as well as presenting high level education even trade professionals would be excited to attend,” she said. “We have amazing workshops and panel discussions covering everything from the trends [from] orange wine and alternatives for cocktails, [to a] sake seminar [and] a deep dive on Riesling — every sommelier’s favorite grape.”
DJ B-Lord said that as a fan of Nappy Roots, he looks forward to seeing the group perform live as part of W+F’s diverse music lineup.
“Hip-hop is one of the largest and most culturally influential genres of music in the world, and Charleston has a very rich and special history of hip-hop artists and DJs,” DJ B-Lord said. “Including hip-hop in the lineup just makes sense and shows that W+F is leaving no stone unturned and no segment untouched.”
Other music events at W+F 2023 include the “It’s a Park Party” event in Hampton Park with Grammy-nominated soul & roots band Southern Avenue, and the “That Yak” hip-hop and cognac workshop at Blue Note Bistro with guest speakers DJ B-Lord and cognac educator Ms. Franky Marshall.
Don’t miss Nappy Roots and DJ B-Lord at Music Farm 7:30-10 p.m. March 3. Tickets are $125 and available at charlestonwineandfood.com.
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