History was made at Edison Square in Tacoma, Washington as artists, organizers, and community members gathered for Rebels & Red Carpets, the fourth and final installment of The Rebel Residency. Culminating in a black-tie event, the celebration marked the conclusion of Tacoma’s first-ever hip-hop residency, establishing a groundbreaking milestone for the city's local music landscape.
Organized by hip-hop artist Philip “Sharp Skills” Jacobs, the residency was inspired by major Las Vegas artist residencies. According to him, it’s the first hip-hop residency to ever grace Tacoma.
Elevating the Scene and Honoring Culture
For attendees and performers alike, the impact of the residency reached far beyond Rebels & Red Carpets. Hip-hop artist Willie Wilson emphasized the significance of the event for the broader Pacific Northwest, the Black community, and Black culture as a whole.
"This is big for Tacoma. This is big for the Northwest... This is big for the Black community here, the hip-hop community,” he said. “This is the first time Tacoma has ever seen anything like this.”
Wilson emphasized that hip-hop is an integral part of engaging with the broader community.
"Hip-hop culture is the world... So in order to reach the community, in order to speak to community... hip-hop has to be a part of the conversation,” he said.
Nurturing Talent and Building Community
Beyond celebrating music, attendees and performers stressed the importance of creating dedicated environments where local artists can develop, experiment, and refine their craft.
"You need room to develop. And I think right now that's what a lot of young artists are missing: space to be imperfect, space to be a little weird between here and there,” event participant Kiki said.
Mentorship and cross-generational artistic collaboration were highlighted as central benefits of such initiatives. Being in shared creative spaces allows experienced artists to be refreshed while helping up-and-coming talent hone their skills.
"There's so much talent in Tacoma and Seattle that gets overlooked,” Sharp Skills said. “We just have to figure out how to invest a little bit more strategically and do things that are a little outside the box to hopefully be able to export our craft instead of always importing the craft."
Taking Responsibility for Dreams
At its core, The Rebel Residency stands as a blueprint for grassroots action and creative self-reliance. Sharp Skills’ mother, Bishop Gwendolyn Phillips Coates, shared a message encouraging artists not to wait for outside validation or opportunity, but to take ownership of their vision.
"If it's your dream, you're responsible for it. And if you don't do it, God will find somebody else who will,” Phillips Coates said.
As the final black-tie evening came to a close, Rebels & Red Carpets was proof of what can be accomplished when local Black creators build their own platforms.
"We can throw our own events. We can have our own community and we can grow it and it can be beautiful... And this is an example of that,” Wilson said.
Looking to book a space for your upcoming event? Check out Colman Commons for all your event space needs at colmancommons.com
