A female rapper who has become a mentor to other women in hip-hop will give the keynote address at the 2012 OSU Hip Hop Literacies Conference, which runs Wednesday through May 11.

MC Lyte will give her keynote speech at 2:30 p.m. on the final day of the conference in the Wexner Center’s Film/Video Theater. Then, during a concert beginning at 7 p.m. in Hitchcock Hall, she’ll perform hits from her catalog, like “Paper Thin” and “Ruffneck.”

Other speakers at the event, subtitled “Globalization of Black Popular Culture,” include Harvard professor Marcyliena Morgan and Columbus producer J-Rawls.

Although Lyte still deejays and raps, the pioneer recently has taken on a mentoring role by creating a network called Hip Hop Sisters that aims to help and support women emcees, deejays, photographers, dancers, graffiti artists and journalists. During a recent interview, Lyte described the network as an attempt to create “a circle of wisdom” by allowing young girls to be mentored by hip-hop veterans such as herself.

Lyte was asked what advice she would give the current crop of female emcees, like Nicki Minaj and Azalia Banks. Lyte quipped, “Nicki Minaj has sold one-point-whatever million records, so I am not quite clear on how I could advise her.”

“As far as the upcoming artists,” she continued, “I would show them a business perspective (that deals with) performance rights, mechanical rights, publishing… How it is you can build a fan base that will stay with you forever.”

Lyte has been in the hip-hop game since 1988, so she probably knows what she is talking about.

Lyte also was asked what can be done to combat the sexism that sometimes shows up in songs by male hip-hop stars. She commented that the artists need to be “real.”

“A lot of the sexism in hip-hop are songs coming from men in somewhat committed relationships—at least in the eyes of God,” she said. “A lot of them are married and have kids.”

Lyte said male hip-hop fans should “strip the words from the music and imagine saying that to your women, your daughter, sister or mother.”

She pointed to Drake’s hit song “The Best I Ever Had” as an example of song about sex that isn’t disrespectful and is also extremely successful.

Asked what female music consumers can do to change the course of misogyny in hip-hop, she said, “They should not buy the records. They should not go to the concerts” of misogynist performers.

Obviously, this hasn’t happened yet, and Lyte had an explanation:

“There needs to be a re-educating of young girls on what they should expect from men,” she said.

I went to Big K.R.I.T.’s show at Skully’s Friday because I wanted to peep a critically acclaimed performer. I also was curious about two developmental tools that were on display.

The first developmental tool was the local version of the “Are You Radio Ready?” contest sponsored by Pepsi, which promises airplay on 107.5 for the winner.

I’m suspicious of this, or of any effort to help someone “make it big” without putting in the proper time and effort to build one’s product. The fact that Odd Future has the No. 5 album in the country, and on an indie label, proves that grassroots DIY development still works.

When I arrived, contest finalist Meechie Nelsonwas ending his set, which led to a performance by another contest finalist, C10. Both local rap artists had energy and got a positive crowd response.

They did not torture people.

Headliner K.R.I.T then took the stage with a deejay and was backed by hype-man Big Sant. They started the set with a chant from Return of Forever, the new free album that took the Web by storm on the heels of K.R.I.T. being named an XXLFreshman of the Year for 2011. (Past freshmen include Lupe Fiasco and Wale.)

This Freshman of the Year award is the second developmental tool I was curious about. It seems to have helped K.R.I.T., but he has a lot of things going for him anyway.

K.R.I.T. is on Def Jam and has an accessible and down-to-earth Southern sound that makes him marketable to Outkast and Devin the Dude’s lanes. He is a national figure online and in print.

Oddly, his music isn’t on the radio. So perhaps there is an irony given the nature of the event. Maybe “Are You Radio Ready?” could have been a question for K.R.I.T. as well.

He was certainly Skully’s-ready: Friday’s show wasn’t sold-out, but it was pretty packed.

After leading the crowd in the Return of Forever chant, K.R.I.T. launched into amped songs like “Sookie Sookie Now,” “My Sub” and “Rotating My Tires” before rolling into the smooth “Moon & Stars.”

K.R.I.T. had a humble cool that still broke a sweat and inspired dancing as well as jumping around.

He did a heartfelt a cappella number before performing my personal favorite, “Dreamin,” a melodic, soulful song about working hard and following your dreams. He then rocked his rowdiest song, “Country,” which I don’t personally like because it reminds me of lame-ass Nappy Roots.

But the sizable audience treated it like a club hit.

By the end of the evening, K.R.I.T. had lost his voice, but his final statement-“If it don’t touch my soul, then I can’t listen to it”-didn’t fall on deaf ears.

I agree with this sentiment, so I didn’t leave angry at the developmental tools that were in evidence.

At this Saturday’s Daymon Day Parade we will disperse a 7-inch single shortly before the parade leaves Tuttle Park at 8 p.m.

The hilarious single,”Bitch, You Don’t Know Shit” is rapped over the theme from the TV sitcom Soap by the late Columbus artist Daymon Dodson, who died in 2006 after a seizure.

Daymon has quite the musical background outside of hip hop, as I learned from his father, William Dodson.

Aside from having iconic gospel singer Andre Crouch as his godfather, Daymon’s parents enrolled him in the Suzuki music program at the age of 3, where he learned to play violin and piano.

“Soon as he learned the notes, he could pick out the theme from MASH on the piano.” said the elder Dodson, who serves as the executive director of the Dayspring Community Corporation, a non-profit organization that helps find housing for low income people.

I wondered what such an upstanding member of society made of his classically trained Christian son rapping under the name Racist Joe, and having a song called “Bitch, You Don’t Know Shit”.

“It’s just tongue-in-cheek,” said Mr. Dodson. “I don’t think his vulgarity is malicious.”

It was, however, influential on the local hip-hop community, as was Daymon’s personality, as evidenced by the parade organized in his honor. The Daymon Day Parade enters its sixth year.

Two Columbus ex-pats will return from Brooklyn Saturday to march in the parade and deejay at Daymon Day’s after-party at Carabar.

Ahmed Gallab, aka “Sinkane”, who plays drums in Yeasayer and also makes mixes for the Roots’ lifestyle blogs OkayPlayer and OkayAfrika, considers Daymon, “the one person who really helped me understand myself.”

Joining Ahmed, both in the march down High Street and behind the turntables at Carabar, is the Black Keys’s art director Mike Carney.

Carney did the cover for “Bitch You Don’t Know Shit” with the assistance from his friend Martin Weiland, whose band Weedsteeler will reunite for the Carabar show as well.

Since the initial Daymon Day Parade in 2006, a number of people involved in the event have also died, including DJ Przm, Camu Tao, and Andyman.

Carney said these losses broaden the meaning of the parade: “The parade is a celebration of Daymon’s life, but it is also a celebration of any life cut short,” he said.

Johnny Cashola, who deejays Get Right, agreed saying, “If you have lost anyone in your life, then Daymon Day feels like a celebration and a way to deal with them being gone.”

Johnny Cashola will deejay at Skully’s, Friday during the Daymon Day Eve Show. He, along with deejay True Skills, will spin in between performances by Nick Tolford & Co., Envelope & Detox, Freaky Franz & CJ. The $5 cover goes to paying for parade permits and costs.

And what does William Dodson make of all the people who return to continue honoring his son?

“It just tickles me when there is a connection like that.” he said.

Editor’s note: Wes Flexner is one of the co-organizers of the Daymon Day Parade.

It was Thanksgiving, and Eric Moore was revealing one thing he had to be thankful for: his son.

The grizzled frontman for the Godz, a local old-school biker/rocker band, exclaimed from the stage of the Carabar: “When you have a son, you hope they turn out better, to be a better man than you. I am a lucky man.”

“I know I am ugly,” Moore added, “but motherfucker, I know how to rock ‘n’ roll.”

The Godz were playing their annual Thanksgiving show at the Carabar. Rapper Levdon, Moore’s son, was also on the bill.

Moore made his statement of paternal pride shortly after his son and several other people took part in a brawl in the middle of Parsons Avenue. At least 10 people were in the road hitting and kicking each other, though it was unclear who started it.

Also unclear was whether Moore knew his son had just been in a street fight and whether that was what inspired his praise for his offspring.

The Godz ended their set with “Gotta Keep a-Runnin,” which Moore introduced with a series of pro-gun, anti-big-government statements.

After the Godz left the stage, an adrenaline-filled Levdon took the mike and called pretty much anyone who rapped to the stage. This led to an impromptu cypher featuring Levs, Nes Wordz and at least three others, who freestyled over a Roc Marciano instrumental.