MELVIN MOORE | PHOTOJOURNALIST

Spreading quickly by word of mouth, the Cipher draws emcees from around the area to surround themselves with passionate hip hop fans near the Free Expression Tunnel. The Cipher takes place on Monday nights at 11:00 PM and lasts until the emcees leave. The Cipher began as an album photoshoot for emcee and multi-instrumentalist, Mike Green and his band, Creme de la Creme. According for Green, “My group and I wanted the look to embody the concepts of the album. So we figured having other emcees free styling near the graffiti of the tunnel embodied it the best.” The group’s photoshoot was shot by Kali Rhe Rogers, a former photojournalist for the Nubian Message and one half of Rhedeont Photography. The Cipher only began in February as a result of the album shoot and is quickly drawing attention from emcees all over Raleigh. According to Green who is also the founder of the Cipher, “Everyone just enjoyed the atmosphere and flow of the photoshoot so much that we just decided to make it a weekly thing. The Cipher is like the backbone of underground hip hop.” Familiar and new faces continue to come to the Cipher week after week ranging from the emcees to the audience. The Cipher has a very positive and relaxed atmosphere where emcees jump in and start rapping whenever they want. According to Carizma Thomas, a junior in media communications, “The Cipher keeps hip hop alive.” The Cipher is an event that is becoming a staple on campus and should not be missed.