It’s a world in which hundreds of hip-hop groups are forming across the island, inspired by not only the love of the beat, but of the forceful, often-political, empowerment that it brings. But unlike hip-hop in the United States, there’s no promise of a better life in Cuba for rappers or those who crave that musical motivation for change.

Albuquerque’s Cyrus Gould knows the world news well. Gould, 26, is among the more than 130 Pastors for Peace volunteers from the United States, Canada and Europe who will challenge what they believe is the immoral and illegal U.S. travel and trade restrictions against Cuba on July 3. Gould and a few others were picked up by a caravan winding its way across the U.S. on Thursday night. (more…)

Take music and DJs, breakdancing, graffiti, rhythms and poetry. Swirl it around. The result is hip-hop, which has recently become a tool to fight human trafficking in Brazil. The new video clip “Don’t Traffic,” by a hip hop group from the outskirts of the capital Brasilia, is reaching youngsters with simple and effective language. “The message uses their own language, including slang,” said 25-year-old group member Allison Costa. “These lyrics stick.” (more…)

In the spring of 1999, the Rev. Al Sharpton gave an impassioned keynote address to the NAACP. Essentially, he chastised the hip-hop generation for being absent from protests during the aftermath of a serious incident in the Bronx. Amadou Diallo, a young, unarmed West African immigrant, had been shot by police officers 41 times.

Sharpton bemoaned the fact that hip-hoppers weren’t more vocal about the Diallo affair. He said the “big, bad New York rappers” were too busy making money for Clive Davis to stand up for justice. Sharpton also expressed disappointment that more of the pent-up rage depicted in rap videos wasn’t directed at holding police accountable for their actions. He got a standing ovation for his sobering words. Unfortunately, not all his views were on point. (more…)

The hip-hop community has been shaken to its core in the wake of last week’s “not guilty” verdict in the Sean Bell case. Among other charges, two of the three officers on trial were charged with first and second-degree manslaughter, while a third officer was charged with reckless endangerment. Out of eight charges, Detectives Gescard F. Isnora, Michael Oliver, and Marc Cooper were found not guilty on every count.

This tragedy began during the early morning hours of Nov. 25, 2006 when undercover officers shot at 23-year-old Sean Bell and two of his friends 50 times. Bell and company were leaving a club, where Bell had just concluded celebrating his bachelor party. He was going to be married to the mother of his two daughters later that day. (more…)

A great track about police brutality featuring images from the Sean Bell murder trial. Via Thug Life Army.

Two new charter schools that would serve students in kindergarten through eighth grade are being proposed for Trenton, NJ, the state Department of Education said last week. The founder of one school is city resident and hip-hop artist Wise Intelligent, and if his application is approved, the school would accommodate about 600 students.

The proposals for the Trenton Vista Academy and the Trenton Frontier Academy are among 25 applications for new charters submitted statewide, officials said. New Jersey Department of Education Commissioner Lucille Davy said the response makes it “clear that interest in charter schools re mains strong in New Jersey.” The state will now begin determining which applications will be approved. (more…)

I saw this cat open up for Kweli once, and he ripped it. Soobax, (pronounced “sohbah”) the first single from K’naan’s upcoming album “The Dusty Foot Philosopher Deluxe Edition,” is percussion-fuelled protest music at its finest. Set in K’naan’s native Somalia, the song is a fervent look at life in a war-torn country ruled by competeing warlords and their gangs. (more…)

Allan Pineda Lindo knew struggle and perseverance early in life. An abandoned child of an American serviceman stationed at the former Clark Air Base in Pampanga, he planted rice and other crops to help his mother earn a living. When the opportunity came for him to travel to the US, he learned to speak English by reading a dictionary.

Now that he’s achieved success as a hip-hop artist, Allan ― better known as apl.de.ap of the Grammy-winning, internationally famous Black Eyed Peas ― says he wants to reconnect and give something back to his native land. (more…)

In a radio ad sponsored by the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti, Grammy Award-winning musician Wyclef Jean is asking his fellow citizens to give up crime and work to improve the country.

“If you love Wyclef, that means you love Haiti. So you should not be raping women, kidnapping people and children, because there can be no excuse for doing so,” Jean said in Creole in a short ad run several times a day by local stations in Haiti. (more…)

Sudanese hip hop artist and former child soldier Emmanuel Jal participated at last week’s three-day African hip-hop conference held at Harvard University. The conference, sponsored by Harvard’s Cultural Agents Initiative and the Ford Foundation, drew 38 panelists from 11 countries.

Jal, who was forced to fight in the Sudanese People’s Liberation Army from the time he was about six years old until he dramatically escaped the rebel army when he was about 13, sees hip-hop as one avenue to peace, tolerance and literacy for millions of African youth. (more…)