Amid Vanderbilt’s more than 300 student organizations, one group has launched a movement that is taking hold.

Vanderbilt Spoken Word, an arts group founded in August 2007, combines elements of hip-hop with poetry in a style that offers commentary on social issues, human relationships and the culture at Vanderbilt.

As a first-year organization, the group has performed at numerous campus cultural events. Beginning with the Diwali show in the fall, Spoken Word kicked off a schedule that included performances at the VIBE dance show in November, the Asian New Year Festival in February and a performance at the “Are You Down?!” showcase that featured many of the group’s members. The inaugural event raised money to benefit the Nashville Sudanese Community Center on Nolensville Pike in south Nashville.

Now a recognizable group at many campus events, founder Debangshu Roychoudhury emphasizes that VSW is still new to campus. The senior founded the organization at the beginning of the school year as a response to what he says was “a lack of hip-hop culture at Vanderbilt.”

Since then, the group has gradually acquired members from all four undergraduate classes, something Roychoudhury credits to “the diverse allure of hip-hop.”

For senior Kevin Hritz, the allure of hip-hop is in the convergence of influences that the art form brings to the table.

“Hip-hop samples everything from salsa to blues,” he said. “It’s about being real, being authentic, being yourself and speaking the truth.”

“And it puts down ignorance,” added senior Beville Nicholas. “We share the common belief of creative expression and discourse through poetry.”

Building off the success of their showcase in February, VSW will be hosting the “One Mic, One Movement” concert tonight on Kissam Quad lawn. Beginning at 5 p.m., the show will include underground hip-hop artists from the Atlanta and Nashville areas, as well as a one-hour set from VSW containing performances that relate back to the theme of “One Mic, One Movement.”

The pieces cover issues ranging from personal identity struggles to AIDS, with Kampala Project manning a booth for those who want to learn more about the AIDS pandemic in Africa.

The members said they feel the concert reflects the group’s objectives as a student organization — inciting social dialogue through the medium of poetry.

“Our spread of the topics we address exhibits our different veins of thought,” said freshman Justin Barisich, “as well as our desire to raise awareness for a certain cause or to express an emotion or appreciation for something we love.”

—Justin Barisich contributed reporting to this article.

—Kelly Swope is also a member of Vanderbilt Spoken Word and can be reached at kelly.m.swope@vanderbilt.edu