The international hip-hop culture and dance festival “Urban Essentials” returns to Vilnius from November 12–16, inviting street dance enthusiasts and culture lovers to gather, learn, and celebrate hip-hop culture. This year, the festival welcomes an exceptional guest – a double Emmy & CLIO winner, hip-hop legend Toki Wright from Minneapolis, USA.
Toki Wright is a chair of Berklee College of Music’s Professional Music Department in Boston, MA, an internationally recognized MC, producer, writer, radio host, arts diplomat, and community organizer. As an artist, Wright has released albums via Soul Tools Entertainment and Rhymesayers, performed at Coachella and Rock the Bells, and collaborated with Talib Kweli, BJ The Chicago Kid, and others.
We sat down with Toki Wright to talk about his creative journey, hip-hop culture, social change, mentorship, and what he’s looking forward to at Urban Essentials in Lithuania.
You’ve built an incredible career as an MC, educator, and Emmy-winning artist. When you look back, what moments shaped your path the most?
The moments that shaped my journey the most weren’t awards or celebrations, they were the little failures. I still remember being too afraid to perform at a talent show in seventh grade. Carrying that disappointment for a whole year made me practice, study, and never want to feel that fear again.
As artists, we tend to look at artistry through a lens. We see all the little details, the late nights when you can’t finish a song, or a dancer who just can’t get a move right. Then comes that small breakthrough when it finally clicks, when you finish the song or nail the move. When you look back, those moments weigh just as much as any award.
Of course, recognition is great, and I appreciate it deeply. But when I think about my role in the world of the arts, I want to be a connector. To create access to spaces people don’t usually get access to, to help them express their ideas even when fear is present. For me, art is holistic, it’s about connection, growth, and freedom.
Winning two Emmys is no small feat. How did that recognition impact your creative journey or message as an artist?
There are many paths to success. Awards are markers that someone saw potential or greatness in you, and I’m thankful for that. But awards can also become a burden, because once you get one, you feel pressure to get another, or a bigger one.
I’m very thankful for them, they’ve opened doors to new relationships in film and television. Recognition makes certain conversations easier to start. Still, I’ve always wrestled with the idea of fame and celebrity, I value real relationships more.
In hip-hop culture, there are all of these worlds – graffiti, dance, MC battles, also subcategories, and all of these groups have their own hierarchies of what they believe is important or valuable. Sometimes, winning a battle means more than an Emmy. It’s all relative. What matters most is feeling joy in what you do.
Just last weekend, I won the World Alive! Equity and Community Builder Award. And these recognitions matter, not just for me, but because they allow me to speak to, lead and mentor up and coming artists from a place of achieving something of note.
Hip-hop has always been a global language. How do you see it connecting communities from Minneapolis to Vilnius?
All of the global connection happens through song and through dance and the ability for people to be a little less judgmental and listen to someone else’s word. That allows the start of the conversation. And there’s something infectious about a groove that makes people move with it, not against it. Hip-hop, especially, carries so much content, stories from the past layered in lyrics, samples, rhythms.
When you take time to ask, What are these young people saying? What do they care about? What are their ideas of freedom? you begin to understand that hip-hop is a mirror of our collective humanity. Hip-hop is a bit of a global language with the beat.
You don’t need to understand every word or slang to feel the energy of a beat or a dance. Hip-hop is about learning about groups of people that you may pass by every day. Hip hop is usually the voice for the voiceless, it speaks for the forgotten, those facing class or economic struggles, to say, “We are not satisfied with our current standing and we want more.”
Hip-hop is not always eloquent; it may be blunt or harsh, because the experience is blunt and harsh. But that’s its truth. Hip-hop allowed me to have conversations across the world and bring people together, help communities utilize this form of the arts as a way to build economy, to create a voice for the voiceless to identify spaces and places that could be utilized differently.
As someone deeply rooted in artistry and activism, how do you see hip-hop as a tool for social change today?
Hip-hop has always been political because it reflects real life, relationships with authority, economics, and inequality. Just because we’re rapping doesn’t mean we’re not paying attention, not studying or having similar human experiences with other people.
We translate the same frustrations that anyone might have, whether you work in a factory or in an office, into rhythm and rhyme. We speak on their behalf, amplifying voices that otherwise wouldn’t be heard.
But real change also requires active listening. It’s not just about confronting ideas you disagree with. Sometimes it’s about showing up, going to a jam, watching, listening, and participating with an open heart.
You’ll be quite busy at Urban Essentials, from hosting MC battles to performing and speaking. How do you approach connecting with an audience, whether it’s at a concert, on the dance floor, or in a classroom?
I’ve not boxed myself into only being a musician, an education, an ambassador, I see myself as a global citizen. And being that means learning how to talk to different audiences in different ways.
If I’m at a show, that might mean jumping into the crowd, literally. If I’m in an academic setting, it’s a more formal conversation. It’s about being adaptable and trying to understand each other’s language. And if we do, we build bridges.
That’s why Augustina Vaiginytė with whom I’ll perform in Vilnius stands out. Because she’s not afraid to advocate for herself and for her community. She leads with excellence and a genuine desire to create stronger bonds and platforms for others.
You’ve mentored many young artists. What advice would you give to emerging MCs or performers here in Lithuania who are still finding their voice?
One of your biggest benefits is being different. Don’t try to conform to sound like others. Take time to figure out what feels right for you, what resonates with your own story, and then give that to the world.
Find people who can give you honest, constructive feedback. And don’t disconnect from your creative process, get to the core of it: the feeling, the flow, the truth. Instead of duplicating someone else’s story, ask: What’s my version of happy? Create from that core. That’s how your art becomes real.
What are you most excited to experience in Lithuania at the festival “Urban Essentials”?
I’m interested to meet the people, whether they’re part of hip-hop culture, or just curious about it. I’m expanding my global circle of good people. Creativity connects us all, whether you’re a dancer, And of course, I’m looking forward to local food, culture, and everything Vilnius has to offer. I’m curious.
“Urban Essentials” brings hip-hip aesthetics and energy to Vilnius
From November 12–16, international hip-hop culture and dance festival “Urban Essentials” takes place in Vilnius. The program features spectacular dance battles, creative discussions and workshops with renowned dancers and choreographers, international dance performances, DJ sets, and a special show by two-time Emmy Award winner Toki Wright together with Augustina.
The festival programme is partly funded by the Vilnius City Municipality, the Lithuanian Council for Culture, the Embassies of Germany and Spain in Lithuania, and the British Council. The festival’s media partner is LRT Plius.