dream hampton

dream hampton
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Filmmaker and Producer Essayist Editor of The Source
Website	dreamhampton.com

dream hampton (stylized in lowercase letters, in emulation of feminist author bell hooks, who was an early influence) is a cultural critic^[1] and filmmaker.^[2]

Early life

dream hampton was born in 1971. Location of birth was in Detroit Michigan. She was named after Martin Luther King’s most celebrated speech, “I Have a Dream.”^[3] hampton attended New York University. She studied film at the Tisch School of the Arts. During her time at Tisch, she created a film for a documentary class. The documentary starred her neighbor at the time, Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace.

Career

dream hampton is a Writer, Film maker, Cultural Critic and Hip-Hop Journalist. Originally from Detroit, hampton has spent most of her professional career between her hometown and New York. Dream hampton is the first female editor of The Source magazine. She also served as editor-in-chief of short-lived Los Angeles-based Rap Pages Magazine^[4] and has been a contributor to Vibe for 15 years, beginning with its launch 1993,^[5] The Village Voice,^[6] and Spin.^[7] Her essays have also been included in over a dozen anthologies, including Born to Use Mics: Reading Nas's Illmatic (2009), edited by Michael Eric Dyson, and Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness (2012), edited by Rebecca Walker.^[8] She was cited as one of the editors and writers of Jay-Z's Decoded. In addition, she also worked with him on The Black Book which was never published. hampton was the associate producer of Behind the Music: The Notorious B.I.G, which featured footage from a previous documentary she filmed while in attendance at NYU.^[9] and co-producer of Bigger than Life, the first feature-length documentary on the rapper, directed by Peter Spier.

Aside from her numerous contributions with the field of Hip-Hop journalism, she has also produced and written several films. Known for being a social activist, many of her films focused on current events and issues primarily within the black community. Her short film "I am Ali" was an entry at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival^[10] and won "Best Short Film" at Vanity Fair's Newport Film Festival. She was a co-executive producer of An Oversimplification of Her Beauty (2012),^[11] associate producer of The Russian Winter (2012),^[12] director of the music video "QueenS" (2012) for SubPop artists TheeSatisfaction!^[13] "QueenS" was hampton's music video directorial debut. In 2013, she directed, TransParent. This documentary targeted  the 2011 Detroit killing of Shelley Hilliard, a 19-year-old transgender woman.^[14]

She was also the creator of We Demand Justice for Ranisha Mcbride. This was a short documentary filmed, following the protest for Mcbride, which hampton herself organized.^[15]  hampton was a member of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) and a sponsor of Black August, a yearly tribute concert benefiting political prisoners.^[16] Her film about the event, Black August: A Hip-Hop Documentary Concert, debuted at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in 2010.^[17]

The Source

hampton first joined The Source magazine as an intern photo editor.^[18] She was employed by the unique Hip-Hop magazine for a total of 18 months.^[19] However, in that period of time, she created some notable pieces and earned a position as editor. It was her editorial piece about Dee Barnes that launched her career as a writer, and editor of The Source magazine.^[18] In the piece, she covered the beating of Dee Barnes, by Dr. Dre. She also spent six months with Tupac following his story in person for cover story.

Works and publications

Books

• Contributor, Decoded, Jay-Z,^[20]

Essays

• "D'Angelo: Soul Man", Vibe Magazine, April 2000^[21]
• "Parable of the Writer: Octavia E. Butler, science fiction visionary, 1947–2006", The Village Voice^[6]
• "Dreaming America: Hip Hop Culture", Spin Magazine, November 1993.^[7]

Anthologies

• "Bad Boy", in The Vibe History of Hip Hop, Three Rivers Press^[22]
• "Born Alone, Die Alone", in Born to use mics: reading Nas's Illmatic By Michael Eric Dyson, Sohail Daulatzai^[23]
• "Audacity", in Black Cool: One Thousand Streams of Blackness. Edited by Rebecca Walker, Soft Skull Press, February 1, 2012^[24]

Filmography

• Behind The Music: The Notorious B.I.G., 1997, associate producer^[25]
• I Am Ali, 2002, Director^[26]
• Notorious B.I.G.: Bigger Than Life, 2007, executive producer
• Black August: A Hip-Hop Documentary Concert, 2010, director^[27]
• "The Russian Winter" 2012, associate producer
• "An Oversimplification of Her Beauty", 2012, co-executive producer^[11]
• "QueenS", 2012. Music video for SubPop artists, TheeSatisfaction!^[13]
• Treasure: From Tragedy to Trans Justice Mapping a Detroit Story,^[28] 2015, executive producer

References

External links

• Official Site