“Street Soulz Collective is more than just a club, or a dance club per se. We’re not really looking for people to join based on their talent or how proficient they are with hip-hop,” said Street Soulz Collective’s secretary, Abdul Sanz, senior dance and civil engineering double major. “We want to make it more of a social club, where people come to get to know more about the culture of hip-hop.”
Hofstra University’s newest edition is a club dedicated to learning the culture of hip-hop.
The club will host events highlighting all five elements of hip-hop culture: breaking, graffiting, DJing, MCing and fashion. The group is hoping to host five events per semester, where two of the five events will feature guest speakers and the other three will be lectures or group discussions to teach individuals about hip-hop culture.
An important aspect of Street Soulz Collective will be the guest speakers. The universal motto of hip-hop reads, “Each one, teach one.” The executive board is inviting hip-hop legends to speak to students in the future about what hip-hop has meant to them throughout their careers. Thus far, the club’s logo was designed by hip-hop dance icon Mr. Wiggles.
“The sense of community coming from hip-hop is what we’re trying to recreate with Street Soulz and [having] that safe haven for students to really be like, ‘Wow, so hip-hop is not just spinning on your head or just breaking and doing all this amazing stuff.’ Yes, that’s part of it, but there are so many other elements of hip-hop,” Sanz said.
Founder, current president and senior dance major Ava Davis brought Street Soulz Collective to Hofstra because hip-hop culture has always been a big part of her life. She wanted to bring the sense of community she found in hip-hop to the university for other students who may be interested.
“You have to be willing to put in the work,” Davis said.
For her, starting a club was challenging because she had to figure out which of the club’s elements were most important to pitch to the Office of Student Leadership and Engagement. She overcame each challenge by communicating effectively with her other e-board members to bring her vision to life.
Street Soulz Collective hosted their first event on Sunday, Nov. 16. The “Beats, Bars and Vibes” event was designed for prospective members to meet the e-board. Ten students attended the event, which gave the club leaders hope for growth in the spring semester.
“We are confident now that we’re able to accomplish everything,” Sanz said. “If we can keep building interest and start putting on consistent programming, I believe that by the end of next semester we will have a bigger membership.”
Vice President and sophomore dance major Korynn Gholston mentioned that the group is hoping to have plenty of participating members at each event because the more people that attend, the more feedback they get. The group is hoping to gear each meeting toward the group of students who attend each session. For example, if the majority of people are interested in fashion, they will focus more on fashion.
“I just really want a very big involvement and active membership. I don’t want ghost members – people that are just on the roster for us to keep our status as a club,” Sanz said. “I want people that are in the club and that are active.”
Street Soulz Collective is open to all students at Hofstra, regardless of their majors or backgrounds.
“Come as you are,” Davis said. “I just want to emphasize that this is not a dance club. Our members do not need dance experience.”
Street Soulz Collective’s e-board hopes to make their space more of a community than a strict environment.
“We want to be a safe space for everyone: every sexual orientation, every gender expression, every political belief, every spiritual belief,” Sanz said. “This is really a club for everyone. We want everyone to feel like they belong in Street Soulz. If there’s nowhere on this campus where you feel like you belong, you’ll belong in Street Soulz.”