INTERVIEW: Wes Jackson, Executive Director of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival on ‘The NY Hip Hop Report’

On this week’s episode of The NY Hip Hop Report with Manny Faces, we interviewed Wes Jackson, Executive Director of The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, now entering its eighth year.

Jackson spoke with Birthplace Magazine Editor-In-Chief Manny Faces and senior writer Steven Ortiz, breaking down the six-day festival, celebrating hip hop music and culture, that runs from July 9-14, 2012.

The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival consists of several events, culminating in an all-day Family Day and Main Day Concert, this year being held at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Busta Rhymes will be this year’s headliner, and is expected to bring a slew of musical friends to take the stage alongside the veteran MC.

“I do know… But I can’t tell you,” Jackson teases, when asked what guest stars Busta Rhymes might have up his sleeve. “But I will tell you this. It’s things that you would expect… Logical people that he’s rocked with repeatedly over the years and earlier in his career that he’s going to bring on. But then he has some new cats, some new people… And one unexpected one that I hope comes through, that’s just gonna shut things down.”

READ: 2011 Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival Recap (Words, Photos, Video)

Of the new, larger location, Jackson states, “It’s technically called Uplands Pier 3 of Brooklyn Bridge Park. If you go to the Prominade right where you enter from Montague, and look straight down, that’s where we’re gonna be, on Pier 3. For the past two years we were at Brooklyn Bridge Plaza, but we got too big for that location. This location is about 40% bigger. It’s really dope, it’s right on the water, you have views of the Statue of Liberty, The Brooklyn Bridge, and the Freedom Tower… It’s just a beautiful scene.”

Listen to the full interview below. To listen to the entire Episode 008 of The NY Hip-Hop Report with Manny Faces, visit www.NYHipHopReport.com. (The NY Hip Hop Report airs live Sunday nights from 10 p.m. – 11 p.m.)

Click for more information about The Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival, including full itinerary and ticket information.