Hip-Hop Meets Television for Zoom Culture Series

Lounging around tables or moving to the pulsing music, an eclectic blend of hipsters and suits filled Michael Jordan's 23 last Friday night at the premiere party for "Hip-Hop Nation: Notes from the Underground," which will air on NBC-17 on Saturday.

Business interests and hip-hop culture converged to produce the show, a collaborative effort between Zoom Culture, a Chapel Hill-based company that produces and distributes digital video content for TV and the Internet, and NBC-17.

Steve Mitchem, vice president of distribution for Zoom Culture, said Hip-Hop Nation would give viewers a new perspective about the music and culture associated with hip-hop. "You normally see hip-hop on-stage, but this is behind the scenes where no TV show has ever shown you before," he said.

The show, a collage of clips from local clubs, artist interviews and street culture, has the feel of a documentary, but its rawness gives it life.

In fact, one of the challenges producer Susan Herzog faced was retaining that edge while making the show acceptable to network censors, Zoom Culture founder Nate Wieler said. Clips run the gamut of hip-hop culture, from the actual music and artists to lifestyles and broader social issues associated with the movement.

These clips came from footage captured by Zoom Culture's zoom directors. More than 400 student zoom directors pay for membership, receive free equipment and training and provide Zoom Culture with content.

Capturing their worlds through the lens of a digital camera, the zoom directors give Zoom Culture's content an edgy, compelling flair, Bob Wittenstein, vice president of finance, said.

He explained that Zoom Culture is essentially about creatively expressing young peoples' perceptions of their world. "`Hip-Hop Nation' is the audience for hip-hop creating a show for hip-hop," he said. "Our zoom directors have their hands on the pulse of what is going on."

The show will be hosted by Larry Pickett, a hip-hop aficionado who has become something of a local celebrity with the success of "The Larry Picket Show," which also airs on NBC-17, and his weekly appearances on the radio station K-97.5.

But lesser-known contributors to the hip-hop movement also contributed to "Hip-Hop Nation."

"L", a Chapel Hill resident who sponsors the weekly hip-hop showcase at the Hideaway, submitted some of his music for the show. It wasn't used, but L came to the premiere party to support his friends and the hip-hop movement in general. "Anybody involved in the hip-hop movement should be here tonight," he said.

L said he feels that the polished product most mainstream viewers see does not reflect the hip-hop movement as a whole. "Hip-hop is a contemporary art," he said, "It's not about the money, but what you usually see on TV is the result of pumping a lot of money into the system."

"Hip-Hop Nation" is different because it captures the ideas of a lot of individuals who contribute to the movement, L said. "It's a huge step for what could happen, as far as giving an unfiltered view of what's going on."

Heather Hudson, head of public relations for Zoom Culture, said "Hip-Hop Nation" reflects the company's innovative approach to media production. "Zoom directors take an in-your-face look at the culture, the issues, the beat of one of the world's most popular forms of music," she said.

By equipping students with tools and an arena for expression, Zoom Culture is trying to contribute to filmmaking as an art form, Weiler said. Paraphrasing Francis Ford Copolla, he said, "Filmmaking will finally be an art form when a fat girl in Iowa can take a camera and make a feature film. That's where we're headed."

If the premiere succeeds, Zoom Culture has plans to broadcast additional episodes, underwritten by national sponsors. After the local debut, NBC-17 hopes to distribute "Hip-Hop Nation" to 13 of its affiliated stations, including New York, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, and then into national syndication.

However, the content of the show is already available to a national audience in the form of digital streaming video on the Internet. In addition to the television broadcast, "Hip-Hop Nation" can also be viewed on the Internet at www.zc.tv, Zoom Culture's Web site.

Founded in 1999, the fast-growing company has bounded into the media business with gusto, and has attracted experienced management and a hefty amount of financial support. Marty Lafferty, formerly the head of marketing for Turner Broadcasting Systems, is now the President and CEO of Zoom Culture, which plans to kick off one new program a month for the next 25 months.

Scores of sponsors have invested in Zoom Culture. The company was able to raise $5.4 million in venture capital last fall from a group of investors led by Durham-based Intersouth Partners. The private screening of "Hip-Hop Nation" was sponsored by popular clothing brand FUBU, Universal Records and Priceline.com

Daniele Eubanks can be reached at daniele_e@hotmail.com.