DUMBO — On Thursday night at Galapagos Art Space — steps from DUMBO’s Empire Fulton Ferry State Park where the fifth annual Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival was about to descend — a photo retrospective of past festivals offered a prelude to Saturday’s entertainment. The work of three photographers, Frank Franklin II, James Blagden and Robert Adams Mayer, who have all contributed to the festival since its creation, documented the event’s first four years.

Festival director Wes Jackson said of the event, “We thought it was important to look back and celebrate.�

The Brooklyn Hip-Hop festival started in 2005, organized by Jackson and his associates at Brooklyn Bodega, which gets its tongue-in-cheek name from the uniquely New York idea of a shop with a ruddy exterior and cleverly convenient interior. The festival was launched as a big advertising concept for the group’s web marketing company, The Room Service Group. Jackson said that just as they were feeling that they wanted to take more things “off line,� hip-hop fans were feeling the same way about their music.

From its humble beginnings in a Williamsburg parking lot, the festival has grown into the largest Hip-Hop event in New York City, according to Brooklyn Bodega. It attracts hip-hop fans from far and wide, which is what they had in mind when they began. They wanted to draw people from outside the area, rather than have it be a New Yorkers-only event.

This year’s festival will feature the return of “family day,� early Saturday afternoon. This tradition started last year as a response to complaints about loud noise during the day. The organizers noticed that families were coming to the park anyway so that kids could use it before the crowds came, and they took this as inspiration to create family day. “We thought the kids are coming to the park anyway, why not just invite them?� Jackson said.

The later part of day will feature more adult content and a range of old and new talents. But people don’t just come out for music — they come for the atmosphere and for each other. The festival attracts many people who are fed up with the commercialization of hip-hop.

Jackson points out that while people sometimes pay $100 and more for comparable shows, the festival chooses to keep admission at $10, which is technically a donation. No one is turned away.

Performers include major industry players, including Pharoahe Monch, DJ Premier, Styles P, dead prez, Smif N Wessun, Grand Puba, J Period, Torae and Marco Polo, Tiye Phoenix, Keys N Krates, Brown Bag All Stars, DJ Parler, DJ Misbehaviour, Metermaids and hosted by Ralph McDaniels.

“For the hardcore hip-hop head there's a lot to devour,� said Jackson, and for those new to the scene, the bands provided “a little primer.�

Jackson said his favorite part of the day is around 3 or 4 o’clock when the crowds start to form. “I like to stand at the front gate and act like Marty Markowitz,� he said.

The Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival takes place from June 18-20. Saturday, June 20 will be the main day.

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