Hip-hop fest to honor late Jacksonville rapper Paten Locke

Jacksonville's hip-hop community will honor one of its own this weekend at James Weldon Johnson Park's Hip Hop Festival.

The fest, at James Weldon Johnson Park in the heart of downtown Jacksonville, features a full day of performances honoring late rapper Paten Locke. The bill is filled with artists and musicians who worked with Locke, who had a huge influence on the Jacksonville hip-hop scene before his 2019 death.

"He was a huge, huge pillar to hip hop," said Mr. Al Pete, one of the organizers of the festival. "He's a great example of what hip hop is supposed to be like. Paten Locke was hip hop."

The festival, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday and is free, features emcees, rappers, break dancers, graffiti artists and DJs who were associated with Locke.

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"This go-round, we wanted to pick people who did work with Paten," Pete said. "We want to acknowledge people who are doing really good work."

The bill includes appearances by Mal Jones, Simple Complexity (Tough Junkie and Mass Appeal), Higher Learning, interactive dance troupe In the Midst, Jay Myztroh, Stono Echo, Steam Mechanics, Dillon and Locke's family members. All of the performers are local.

Pete stressed that the festival will be family-friendly, with activities for kids and explicit lyrics toned down. He said In the Midst will give break dance lessons and kids will create their own "DJ plates" at the festival. It will also have food trucks and a bar, and blank boards will be mounted around the park for graffiti artists to do their thing.

Pete said it's no coincidence that the festival is being held in the middle of Black History Month or that it's at a park named for James Weldon Johnson, co-writer of "Lift Ev'ry Voice and Sing." The park is also one of the key sites from Axe Handle Saturday, a 1960 incident where Blacks were beaten by axe handles.

"For us to be in the middle of downtown Jacksonville, at James Weldon Johnson Park, for us to be able to hold the torch like that ... that's excellent," Pete said.

There is also a VIP event Friday night associated with the festival. Two local hip-hop documentaries will be shown. "Recollection: How Asamov Began" looks at the early days of Asamov, a hip-hop collective that included Locke; "Outside" looks at the current state of the Duval hip-hop scene. The films will be shown at the Jessie Ball duPont Center Friday evening, but the event is sold out.

"Memories of an Erudite Eremite," a collection of images from Locke's time in the local hip-hop scene, opens Friday at the duPont Center and will remain on display through March.

James Weldon Johnson Hip Hop Festival

• Noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at James Weldon Johnson Park

• Free

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: James Weldon Johnson Park's Hip Hop Festival Saturday in Jacksonville