PREVIEW: Honoring the Culture: Hip Hop’s Past, Present & Future on Back2Besa

By Besa Gordon - You already know — hip hop raised us, shaped us, and continues to inspire everything we do. This week on Back2Besa, I wanted to dedicate the entire show to the culture that has poured into me since I was a kid. From storytelling, fashion, and art, to activism, collaboration, and community — hip hop is more than a genre. It’s a lifestyle, an identity, and a global movement that started at a house party in the Bronx and changed the world.

So for this episode, we’re traveling, reflecting, and celebrating some of the most powerful hip hop-driven moments we’ve covered on Back2Besa.

The Next 50 — Celebrating the Future of Hip Hop

We start with The Next 50 — a two-day celebration that imagined what the future of hip hop could look like right here in the Pacific Northwest. Workshops, youth programs, performances — and a community that refuses to let the culture stand still.

D Smoke Pulls Up

Then we tap in with the Innovative Change Makers and Grammy-nominated artist and educator, D Smoke, for a night rooted in unity and change. This wasn’t just a show — it was a movement that combined music with activism and youth leadership.

Hip Hop Wine & Chill

Next, we’re taking it down to Portland for the Hip Hop Wine & Chill — where culture meets elegance at Abbey Creek Winery, home of Oregon’s first Black winemaker, Bertony Faustin. And yes, this event will forever be special to me after receiving the Trailblazer Award.

Seattle to Chicago with Oblè Reed

From there, we’re hitting the road (and the sky) to Chicago with Seattle’s own Oblè Reed as he performs at Groundwaves — a mentorship platform created by hip hop legend MURS.

The Subway Cypher

We’re also taking you inside the Subway Cypher — an immersive hip hop experience that temporarily turned Occidental Square into a moment straight out of 1980s New York.

The Griot Party Experience

Then it’s storytelling at its finest with The Griot Party Experience — poetry, music, vulnerability, and history all in one room.

Red Bull Returns with Lords of the Floor

And we can’t forget when Red Bull brought Lords of the Floor back to Seattle — honoring the dancers who helped build breaking culture as it steps onto the Olympic stage.

Why This Episode Matters

Hip hop taught us to speak our truth — even when the world wasn’t ready to hear it.
It told us we belonged in rooms where people said we didn’t.
It showed us how to take pain and turn it into poetry, rhythm, bars, movement, and purpose.

This episode is a celebration — not just of the music, but the people. The artists, the organizers, the youth, the dreamers, the storytellers, the risk-takers, the ones still pushing the culture forward.

How to Watch

Catch this week’s episode of Back2Besa:
Saturday at 10:30 PM on FOX 13 Seattle
Replays Sunday at 10 AM and 8 PM on FOX 13+

Streaming? No problem!
Watch anytime on the FREE FOX Local app.