Watching the MC with the dreadlocks, the interracial couple, kids younger than 12, asians, blacks, whites and Hispanics congregated in the Washington Neighborhood Center all listening to the same music was a rare and inspiring sight. Today was the third and final day of the first Sacramento Hip Hop Congress Awareness Festival. The day was dedicated to a showcase of performances by open-mic artists, b-boys, DJs and street, conscious and hip hop MCs from Sacramento, San Francisco and Los Angeles, as well as art displays. Bay Area musician Rahman Jahmaal and local musicians such as Skurge riled the crowd with their inspirational words. Jahmaal broke down the beauty in the art of hip hop. "

Want to learn about hip hop or the hip hop music industry? This weekend provides a perfect opportunity--the Sacramento Chapter of the Hip Hop Congress will be holding its first awareness festival May 22 through May 24 at the Washington Neighborhood Center at 400 16th Street in midtown Sacramento. Hip Hop Congress is a nonprofit organization that identifies itself as "an international grassroots network that educates, empowers, and unites individuals...preserv[ing] and evolv[ing] hip hop by inspiring social action and cultural creativity within the community." The organization claims more than 50 chapters nationwide, in addition to chapters in Europe and Africa. Vanessa Amarro, co-chair