NEWS

Chreece celebrates hip-hop sound, vibe in Indy

Olivia Lewis
olivia.lewis@indystar.com
MUMBLE (left) with the hip-hop group Shadow Village, performs at Pizza King, during the Chreece hip-hop music festival on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015. Six venues in Fountain Square offered music all day.

Oreo Jones ran from one stage to the next Saturday afternoon, as the opening acts for the Chreece hip-hop festival in Fountain Square began to perform.

Jones is the founder and organizer of the event which pulled 60 musical acts to Indianapolis this weekend. Held in six venues in the neighborhood south of Downtown, Chreece was designed to spread good cheer and peace in the community through music.

Hip-hop fans and locals welcomed the inaugural festival Saturday. They listened to artists from near and far, happy to see more events in the area.

Oreo Jones is the co-founder of the Chreece hip-hop festival in Indianapolis. He hopes the inaugural event introduces people to different musical sounds and makes them more aware of the hip-hop culture in Indiana.

Aaron Schaler, owner of Pizza King, was scheduled to have 17 artists perform in his restaurant. Schaler opened the pizza business in December and said he wanted to contribute to more live music in Fountain Square.

“It’s just a good way to connect with the community,” Schaler said. “And listen to some music, sell some pizza.”

Kathleen Grimes, 26, sat in Fountain Square Plaza with Lynley Chapin, 38, listening to scores of disc jockeys. Grimes said she, too, was happy to see more music-related events in Fountain Square.

“Fountain Square is up-and-coming,” said Kathleen Grimes. “I’m excited to see what this will do for the culture.”

Grimes, of Indianapolis, said she only knew of two local hip-hop artists, but neither of them performed on Saturday. She and Chapin said they knew very little about Indianapolis’ hip-hop scene but were interested in listening about new artists.

“The first DJ was on point, this one, it’s whatever,” Grimes said.

Lynley Chapin and Kathleen Grimes sat in Fountain Square Plaza to listen to disc jockeys at Chreece. “I’m excited to see what this will do for the culture,” Grimes said.

Giving the public the option to hear lots of different sounds was part of Jones’ goal. He said it could make people more aware of the hip-hop culture in Indiana.

“(I hope people) come together, have an open mind and learn,” he said.

The artist said he’s had a variety of influences that have attributed to his experimentation with different sounds. Though all 60 artists performing this weekend are centered in hip-hop, Jones said they each brought something different to the festival.

Indiana Tone and OK Now! were the first to perform at Joyful Noise on Saturday afternoon.

Tone said the local artists that were performing brought back hip-hop values stressing lyrics about life over a tight beat.

The duo said having a festival like Chreece is “beautiful.”

“I love it,” Tone said. “I’m just sad that it didn’t happen 10 years ago.”

Call Star reporter Olivia Lewis at (317) 444-6126. Follow her on Twitter:@TheWrittenPeace.