The fliers for Breakin' Hearts have next year's date on them.
"That's how you know it's a real hip-hop show - the dates are wrong, and everything is misspelled," organizer Cyrus Gould said.
Breakin' Hearts, a hip-hop festival, will be in the SUB Ballroom on Saturday.
This year's Breakin' Hearts is still about the elements of hip-hop but also about educating young people on issues they face in their lives, Gould said.
"So, really we're trying to activate and engage this young, powerful mass," he said. "This event has turned into a way to talk to a lot of young people about issues that are important."
Gould said young people have the power to create social change, and Breakin' Hearts has the potential to make them more aware of that.
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The event will feature free educational workshops. Robert "Biko" Baker, institute director for the League of Young Voters, will host a workshop called "Hip-Hop Power and Politics."
The idea is to educate people, before the election, on the power they have as voters and as citizens, Baker said.
Young people need to have a passion to make changes in their community, he said.
"It is not about the candidate. It is about us," he said. "If you are waiting for the candidates to change your life, you are going to be waiting a long time. But if you are interested in making change, you have to be active."
Baker said the crime and social injustice he witnessed in his community motivated him to become politically active.
"I'm from the 'hood of Milwaukee," he said. "If I don't have inspiration to change, I'm not paying attention to what is going on. Everything that says America is supposed to be beautiful and loving - I just don't see it when I step out my door."
Baker said hip-hop is a way of connecting to young people.
"It is a powerful mode of communication. Whether you are communicating through rap or graffiti, all these tools can be used as a powerful way to communicate what people are feeling," he said.
Baker said he works with Gould because he sees the love Gould has for the art form and its message.
"Art has to be kind of holistic and loving. So, whenever he asks me to do something, I'm going to be there," he said.
Gould said that although he organized the event, it's the participants and the sponsors that bring the event together.
"If anything, I'm a conductor, and I don't think the conductor has the right to take credit for the symphony," he said. "I'm just waving my arms around. Everyone involved has all the talent. I put up posters and rent out a building, but it's everyone involved that makes it what it is."
Breakin' Hearts
Saturday
6 p.m.-midnight
SUB Ballroom
$15 at LA Underground
$20 at the door
