Scribble Jam, touted as "America's Largest Hip Hop Festival", has come to be seen as just that. It is the largest public display of underground hip hop that is available in the United States.

Co-founded in 1996 by Scribble Magazine and DJ Mr. Dibbs of Atmosphere, the event has called Cincinnati, Ohio home for the last 10 years. Recently, the festival has grown in popularity and now sees tens of thousands of hip hop fans flock to its grounds in early August.

The centerpieces of the Scribble Jam festival are the five competitions, four of which are designed to highlight the main aspects of hip hop culture. They include the emcee or freestyle battle, the DJ or scratching competition, the B-boy or breakdancing competition, and the graff-writer or graffiti competition. Recently a Beatbox Battle has been introduced and become a fan favorite. Historically, the most popular of the competitions has been the freestyle battle, although all aspects of the hip hop culture are well represented. In the last five years, guest performances have come to the forefront, bringing in great numbers of fans. Performers include hip-hop greats such as Big Daddy Kane, Lyrics Born, Masta Ace, Prince Paul, Wordsworth, Blueprint, Brother Ali, Slug, Eyedea, MURS, DJ Vajra, The Animal Crackers, Glue, and many more.

The first ever Scribble Jam, held in 1996, was merely a small, parking lot party that held a quantity as few as fifty people. By the second year, however, word was quick to spread about this uprising event and more hip-hop fans came to be a part of it. Since then, every following year seems to bring about twice as many spectators, participants, and performers to the now-heavily established forum.

Some of hip hop's most well-known and well-respected stars got their start at Scribble Jam. The most famous Scribble Jam competitor of all time is Eminem. He participated in the 1997 emcee battle, managing to make his way to the semifinals along with MC Juice, Rhymefest and Dose One. In the semifinal rounds, he was defeated by both Rhymefest and Juice. Despite his good showing, Eminem has been criticized for using the same "freestyle" punchlines in both the 1997 Rap Olympics and the 1997 Scribble Jam competition.

SCRIBBLE JAM 2008 OFFICIAL LINE UP!

PERFORMANCES BY:
ATMOSPHERE
KRS ONE
BLUEPRINT
CHANNEL LIVE
ABSTRACT RUDE
DJ DSTYLES
MR. DIBBS
EMBEDDED MUSIC SHOWCASE
(Bisc1, Iller Than Theirs, Loer Velocity, Junk Science)
SUPASTITION
BROOKLYN ACADEMY
CYMARSHALL LAW
NOCANDO
X:144 & SPS
MADDILLZ
FAMOUS MR NOBODIES

AND MANY MORE!

FIRST TOUR STOP IN:
CHICAGO:, IL
Hosted by The Molemen
mcs and producers must pre-register at: kevin@scribblemagazine.com
Reggie's Rock Club
www.reggieslive.com
2109 S State St (at 21st St)
Age: 17+
Date: 9-6-08
Door: 10 pm - 2 am doors
Price: $8
Performers: TBA