“Straight Outta Fresno,” a project of Fresno State’s Valley Public History Initiative, will present the Battle for Fresno State B-boys and B-girls competition from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3, at Arte Americas (1630 Van Ness Ave.).
The event is the first of two battles that will be hosted by Fresno State’s Valley Public History Initiative. In this preliminary round, crews will battle in a 3-on-3 format with prize money awarded to first and second place.
Dr. Romeo Guzman, a Fresno State history professor and founder of the project established in 2016, said the Battle for Fresno State features a lineup of judges that includes some of the most respected West coast B-boys: B-boy Ace (Master Movements Crew), B-boy Morris (Rockforce/Fallen Kings/World of Dance) and Dee Rock (Renegades).
Winners of the battle will qualify for the championship round at Fresno State’s North Gym on April 15. The preliminary round will also feature portions of the “Straight Outta Fresno” public history exhibit made up of material from the archive dedicated to the documentation of Fresno’s hip-hop history.
From 10:30 a.m. to noon, historians will be on site to conduct walk-in oral histories to highlight hip hop in the Central Valley with community members who would like to share their stories or photos and flyers. All material gathered will be uploaded to the “Straight Outta Fresno” public archive housed on the Henry Madden Library’s website.
For more information, contact Romeo Guzmán at romeog@csufresno.edu or Sean Slusser at seslusser@csufresno.edu.
