Philadelphia, PA – The City of Brotherly Love transformed into Cypher City during Philly Tech Week presented by Comcast. This year was the 2nd Annual Cypher City Spotlight, Back to the Future with Cypher City LIVE Celebration of Innovation, a nationwide lyricist and R&B artist competition that grants the public the opportunity to vote via social media channels for the best lyricists to represent their city. Founded by Serial Entrepreneur and Community Leader Veniece Newton, Cypher City is designed to highlight the importance of diversity and inclusion within the technology industry while providing a platform for aspiring lyricists to express themselves through words.
Cypher City consisted of two components, an educational as well as an entertainment portion. The educational segment consisted of a panel discussion with music and technology industry leaders including Startup Advocate at Microsoft Frank Denbow, Andre Jones of Anomaly lifestyle brand, The Machine Group and A&R and Songwriter Jordan Bailey. In addition, Cypher City presented an informative keynote fireside chat with legendary writer and producer Kenny Gamble and nine time Grammy Award winning Songwriter Bryan Michael Cox. Following up, was the Cypher Competition putting the spotlight on Philadelphia’s most talented recording artists. Some of the artists that delivered fire included Dell-P, Tone Versace, Ant Brown Entertainment, Kobe, Y.Ryda, Eli Capella, King Non Fiction, Mad Squablz, Seraiah Nicole, and Suzann Christine.
The event presented many opportunities for resources and access. For prospective artists, producers and DJ’s, Cypher City was the place to be to not only network, but to also gain knowledge and insight on the music and technology industries and how they collide. During the fireside chat, Kenny Gamble stated, “Technology will change, and you must be prepared to change.” In regards to opportunity Cox said, “You can’t block the young people out. It’s going to be their game anyway, so we should embrace them and educate them.” With that, the VIP DJ of the event was 11-year-old DJ Sophia, The Youngest in Charge who began experimenting with Dee Jaying at just 18 months old.
As a national platform, Cypher City provides the opportunity for the public to rank the best lyricists nationwide. Atlanta, you are up next. To join the cypher, go to cyphercity.com