MORGANTOWN -- Hip hop’s influence on West Virginia is bigger than you may realize. The state’s youngest lawyers and law students grew up with hip hop, and it will be a continuing influence in everything they do.

West Virginia University’s College of Law hosted its first hip hop symposium, “The Evolution of Street Knowledge: Hip Hop’s Influence on Law and Culture,” on Feb. 12-13 at the urging of a now third-year student.

Brian Welch broached the symposium idea with WVU law professor andre douglas pond cummings a year ago.

Cummings said Welch asked: “Don’t you think hip hop has transformed the way we interact with the law? And don’t you think it’s had a global imprint on society?”

Cummings told Welch he agreed and had been writing an article on how hip hop changed lawyers and how they practice law.

Hip hop began in the 1970s in New York City, and includes rapping, Djing, graffiti writing and break dancing, although most people consider music the most significant influence of hip hop.

Welch was influenced by hip hop group Run DMC on the basketball court as a child. Run DMC and N.W.A received mention numerous times during the symposium. Panelists, speakers and attendees remembered growing up parallel with hip hop.

It was hip hop’s drive, its power that Welch said he and others heard in the ’80s and ’90s.

“It always got me going and gave me drive to succeed,” he said excitedly at the symposium.

Students developed the panels and their keynote speaker choices — Princeton University Professor Cornel West and Talib Kweli topped their list.

A year later, both men spoke to hundreds of listeners, Talib to a standing-room only audience at the law school’s Lugar Courtroom. West, who discusses race, culture and politics, spoke in the Mountainlair Ballrooms.

In the late ’90s, Talib was dubbed a social consciousness rapper, along with Black Star collaborator Mos Def and others. Talib is an acclaimed hip hop artist known for his socio-political lyrics.

An example of lyrics from his newest album “Ear Drum” is “we need more rap songs that stress purpose/With less misogyny and less curses/Let’s put more depth in our verses.”

Talib said hip hop reflects the culture that influenced it. Impoverished inner cities receive publicity today in the minds of kids all grown up and working as professionals.

“I can imagine if you’re a lawyer or you’re a judge or you’re a law enforcement officer, if you relate to someone who’s poor and oppressed based on your love of hip hop, it’s going to have an influence on your job,” he said.

Lecture panels at the symposium referenced today’s dialogue on equalizing the treatment of those who have and those who do not, including drug laws and policing.

cummings said the poor and marginalized segments of society weigh on the minds of former students who will make the laws.

“I think it will impact the way that they pass legislation, the way they consider politics,” cummings said.

Talib said Feb. 12: “I think hip hop’s influence on politics is starting to work its magic.”

People who listened to his music in high school and college are now professionals. Hip hop influences his business efforts, listeners’ politics and the legal system, he said.

“You have people who saw the political system, and they didn’t like it in high school and college. And now they’re adults, and they can do something about it, and they’re starting to make those changes,” he said.

cummings said, “These students listen to hip hop artists and many learn politics from them.”

Welch said he learned to understand the hardships of poor, inner-city life through hip hop.

Talib said hip hop made him more aggressive and business-minded but that as an artist he doesn’t have an agenda.

“Hip hop is entertainment. It can create the tool and provide a platform for an agenda, but I don’t know if hip hop itself should have an agenda,” he said.

“Hip hop drives the culture,” Talib said. “If the hip hop community doesn’t like it, it’s not cool.”