" />
Alexandra Dillard
Peyton Courtney, a UNC Chapel Hill junior studying biology, participates in the sixth anniversary of Cypher at the Free Expression Tunnel on Aug. 22. When asked why he raps he said, "the universe speaks through me."
NC State Cypher made its debut as an official student organization at the Free Expression Tunnel Monday night, drawing a crowd of about 100 people.
Founded six years ago at NC State, Cypher is a weekly event that brings together people from every corner of Raleigh. While it has always been a celebrated aspect of NC State culture, 2016 marks the first year that Cypher is officially a campus organization.
Anderson Burrus, a senior studying communication with a media concentration, spearheaded the efforts to bring Cypher into the fold of NC State student groups. Burrus described his passion for the event and for freestyling as a borderline obsession.
“We’re out here every Monday; people are dedicated to this,” Burrus said. “Back in 2012, Cypher met when Hurricane Sandy was coming through.”
As an official campus organization, Cypher will now be receiving funds from the university, and there are plans to use the funds to spread Cypher to other colleges around North Carolina, and eventually beyond, according to Burrus.
“Cypher is already at seven other schools around North Carolina,” Burrus said. “We want to keep going. We’re also planning on setting up some talent showcases.”
The event itself consists of more than two dozen artists gathering in a circle outside the Free Expression Tunnel, laying down verse after verse and passing the spotlight off from one person to the next. Respect was the word of the night, and those who stepped into the circle to share their freestyle were accepted willingly, and if the crowd got too rowdy, other artists would call for silence in the audience.
Shep Bryan, another event organizer and an NC State alumnus, said he returns every Monday to sharpen his skills and listen to other artists.
“Freestyle is just another way of thinking for me,” Bryan said. “I started with beat production, then a friend pointed [Cypher] out to me. The first night I came out there were like eight people. It was a place for me to come and practice with other like-minded people and artists.”
Throughout the night, people walked into the circle at the core of the Cypher and shared freestyle and poetry while others added to the mix with guitars, a stand-up bass and some percussion. At one point, the audience was asked to give words to be included in the freestyle, the more ridiculous and difficult to incorporate, the better.
Cypher veteran Andrew Weaver, a Raleigh native, said he has been attending the event since its second meeting, and has put countless hours ever since into improving it.
“This wasn’t really an organized thing back until fall 2012, it was just a couple people who would meet and freestyle,” Weaver said. “We filmed a video of Cypher and put it on Youtube to get the word out.”
Edgar Labra, a senior studying sustainable materials and technologies, went to Cypher because he had heard about it in previous years, but had never actually gone. Labra will graduate in December and wanted to cross the event off of his graduation bucket list.
“I heard about it through social media; I had never been before and I figured now was the time to do it,” Labra said. “It’s a great environment here; everyone brings their own talents to the mix. It’s cool to see this kind of collaboration.”
Cypher is held every Monday at the Free Expression Tunnel starting at 9 p.m. Burrus said the group is welcoming to onlookers and new participants.