Tall Paul is an Anishinaabe and Oneida Hip-Hop artist enrolled in the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe in Minnesota. Born and raised in south Minneapolis, his music strongly reflects his inner-city upbringing. From personal expressions of self, to thought provoking commentary on issues affecting Indigenous and diverse communities as a whole, Tall Paul’s music evokes Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Scoop Jackson is a sports journalist who has written for numerous basketball and hip-hop magazines during his lengthy career. Since 2005, Scoop has been a member of the ESPN family writing for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com’s Page 2. During his time at ESPN, Scoop has primarily covered basketball on a weekly basis. Additionally, Scoop has often campaigned in his Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Born and raised in Saint Louis, Missouri, Kareem Jackson is a rapper and agent for social change. Through his unwavering integrity, sincere rhymes and passionate actions, Kareem – better known as Tef Poe – is changing the musical and social-political landscape. Tef built his reputation as a battle rapper in St. Louis and has continued Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Mariame Kaba is an organizer, educator and curator. Her work focuses on ending violence, dismantling the prison industrial complex, transformative justice and supporting youth leadership development. After over 20 years of living and organizing in Chicago, she recently moved back to her hometown of New York City. She is the founder and director of Project NIA, a Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Mic Jordan, a hip-hop artist and an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe Tribe in Belcourt, ND, where music heavily influenced his childhood. In addition to his own musical endeavors, Mic also leads hip-hop writing workshops for young people and is a sought-after speaker, having delivered the keynote address at the Sitting Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Marcyliena Morgan is a Professor in the Department of African and African American Studies and Founding Director of The Hiphop Archive and Research Institute (HARI) at Harvard University and the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. Listen to the interview →
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Clint Smith is a writer, teacher, and Ph.D. Candidate at Harvard University. He is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and was named the 2013 Christine D. Sarbanes Teacher of the Year by the Maryland Humanities Council. He is a 2014 National Poetry Slam champion, a Cave Canem Fellow, and his writing has appeared in Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Audry Funk is a singer and MC born in the city of Puebla. Her music is a mix of reggae, hip hop, soul, and funk. She is part of the collective, “Mujeres Trabajando,” where the members perform across disciplines such as singing/rapping, break dance demonstrations, graffiti expositions and other visual arts, as well as photography and public Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Darnell L. Moore is a Senior Editor at MicNews and Co-managing Editor/Partner at The Feminist Wire. Along with former NFL player Wade Davis II, he co-founded YOU Belong, a social good company focused on the development of diversity initiatives. Darnell’s advocacy centers on marginal identity, youth development and other social justice issues in the U.S. Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Daisy Rosario is a comedian, writer and producer of things from radio stories to live events. Currently, Daisy produces the podcast, Sooo Many White Guys, and formerly is the Senior Producer for Latino USA. In addition, Daisy hosts a digital series called Future Present for the millennial news site Mic.com. The show explores overlooked health issues by featuring new technologies Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Page May is an organizer, teacher and abolitionist based in Chicago. She is the cofounder of Assata’s Daughters and one of the eight youth delegates from We Charge Genocide who traveled to the United Nations, and the lead author of the shadow report submitted to the UN Committee Against Torture. Listen to the interview →
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Brother Ali is a highly respected Hip Hop artist, speaker and activist from Minneapolis, MN. His decade long resume includes six critically acclaimed albums, mentorships with Iconic Hip Hop legends Chuck D and Rakim and performances on late night talk shows with Conan O Brien and Jimmy Fallon. He’s been the subject of Al-Jazeera and Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Freddie Old Soul is a Chicago based emcee, who uses rhymes, and story telling to express her most inner secrets and divine self. Growing up on the Southside of Chicago. She had either two choices. Become a product of her environment, or paint her own world. Her style weighs heavily upon boom bap, yet she Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Michael Skolnik is an entrepreneur, activist and storyteller. He is the proud father of Mateo Ali. He is a Disciple of Russell Simmons. He is a Board Member of the Trayvon Martin Foundation. Listen to the interview →
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David Luke is a music producer from Albany, GA and a network producer for NPR’s Microphone Check. Listen to the interview →
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On a cold snowy day at a downtown Chicago hospital, K’Valentine made her entrance into this world. She served as an early Christmas gift for her mother. The news of her birth also excited her father, Valentine Ogilvie Reid, who at the time, was incarcerated in another state. At an early age, in spite of Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Undeniably one of hip hop’s most prominently rising stars, Jon Connor was recently handpicked by the legendary Dr. Dre to sign to his Aftermath record label after years of independently releasing a series of acclaimed mixtapes and underground projects. The self-appointed “People’s Rapper” from Flint, Michigan was also featured in the 2013 BET Hip Hop Awards cypher as well as on XXL’s 2014 Freshmen Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Poet, playwright, and actor Kristiana Colón earned a BA at the University of Chicago and an MFA at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her poems explore romantic and personal transformation, often making use of unconventional punctuation and capitalization. The author of the chapbookpieces of shedu (2008), Colón has also performed on HBO’s Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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GLENN E. MARTIN is the founder and president of JustLeadershipUSA, an organization that aims to cut the U.S. correctional population in half by 2030 by elevating and amplifying the voice of people most impacted by crime and incarceration, and positioning them as informed, empowered reform partners. Mr. Martin is co-founder of the Education Inside Out Coalition Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Daryn was born and raised in Washington DC and came to Chicago to attended Columbia College. While there she won the Biggest Mouth Competition, the schools most competitive music competition. After graduation she decided to stay in the city, calling Chicago her second home after living here for nearly 8 years now. She’s had several Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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José Luis Vilson is a math educator for a middle school in the Inwood / Washington Heights neighborhood of New York, NY. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in mathematics education from the City College of New York. He’s also a committed writer, activist, web Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Diamond Janese Sharp is a poet and writer from Chicago. She is an alumna of Wellesley College. She has performed at Chicago’s Stage 773 and her work has been featured on Chicago Public Radio and published in PANK, JoINT Literary, Wellesley Review, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Say What Magazine, GirlSpeak Webzine, BLACKBERRY, Women in Red [a publication of Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Julio Davis heads The J. Davis Trio. Following their musical heart, The J. Davis Trio continues to thrive. They thrive not only because of their connection to real hip hop and jazz music, but also because of their ability to grow and change. Starting as trio, they now have as many as 8-10 people on stage, Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Born and raised St. Louis, Mo. on a healthy diet of news programming, pop culture, black history and “snark,” Danielle Belton, daughter of loving “regular folk” and wife of no one, examines the irreverent side of American life. With two million readers in less than two years, Belton is best known as the editor/writer of Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Hailed as a “music guru” by Rolling Stone and cited among the “world’s Top DJ’s” by The New York Times, J.PERIOD is a master of his craft: a musical storyteller whose work bridges cultures, generations and styles. J.PERIOD’S resume boasts collaborations with Grammy winners Common, John Legend, Joss Stone & Mary J. Blige. He has Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Nitzia Scott, better known by her stage name Nitty Scott, MC, is an emcee via Brooklyn, New York. Her breakthrough came in 2010, when the video for her freestyle over Kanye West’s “Monster” went viral. She has performed at the BET Hip Hop Awards and has been featured in Billboard Magazine and The New York Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Ric Wilson is a 19 year old black self-proclaimed Artist and Prison Abolitionist from the South-side of Chicago, is also 1/2 of Chicago Rap Duo “Fuck Yo Institution”. On April 1st, 2015 Ric dropped his first solo Debut Project “Penny Raps” which tells Ric’s story of going and dropping out of college due to Financial Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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The MCing half of progressive rap duo Kidz in the Hall, Naledge was born Jabari Evans in Cincinnati, OH, but grew up on Chicago’s South Side since he was two years old. Raised by two Ph.D.-educated parents, the high-school valedictorian academically had an easy time in school and found his niche in poetry and writing. Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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After years of performing as half of the critically acclaimed duo Fear of a Brown Planet, Aamer Rahman finally appears in his long-awaited debut solo show. Listen to the interview →
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A native of Atlanta, Dr. Walter M. Kimbrough was his high school salutatorian and student body president in 1985, and went on to earn degrees from the University of Georgia, Miami University in Ohio, and a doctorate in higher education from Georgia State University. He has enjoyed a fulfilling career in student affairs, serving at Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Every once in a while, in those gusts of Chicago winds, you’ll come across something worth keeping. And that’s precisely what happened when The Boy Illinois crept onto the music scene. The 25-year-old University of Illinois college drop-out is on a mission to grab the ears of listeners with slick delivery, sharp wordplay and most Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Vann R. Newkirk II, also known as fivefifths, is a writer, editor, graphic designer, and activist entrepreneur who is currently Chief Scribe and founder at Seven Scribes, a new online destination for millennials of color. He is a graduate of Morehouse College and UNC-Chapel Hill, and is deeply passionate about social justice, environmental justice, Afrofuturism/speculative Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Critically acclaimed lyricist, producer, writer, director, cinematographer and all around consummate entertainer- Jean Grae has been challenging the boundaries of artistry since her debut in 1996. Whether creating music with imaginative narratives that immerse the listener in a dark world of Grae’s design, or spilling her most personal stories of love and life experiences, she Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Hector “Hex Hectic” Danniel was born in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood and raised by his mom. Hex Hectic has fused his passion for multimedia, music and mission into one of the city’s most supported brands. In 2009 Hex Hectic founded the The Knights of Chicago volunteer team. With only a few members, they Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Rahiel Tesfamariam is a social activist, public theologian, writer and speaker. She is the Founder and Publisher of Urban Cusp a cutting-edge online lifestyle magazine highlighting progressive urban culture, faith, social change and global awareness. She is also a former columnist for The Washington Post. Rahiel holds degrees from Stanford University and Yale University, where Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Wade Davis is a thought leader, advocate, writer, public speaker and educator on gender, race and orientation equality. Davis played for the Tennessee Titans, the Washington Redskins and the Seattle Seahawks, as well as for two different teams within the NFL Europe league. In 2014, Davis began consulting for the NFL to ensure that LGBT Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Mychal Denzel Smith is a Knobler Fellow at The Nation Institute, contributing writer for The Nation Magazine, blogger for TheNation.com, as well as a contributor to Feministing.com and Salon. His work as appeared online for publications such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Gawker, and many others. As a social commentator, he Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Nikole Hannah-Jones joined ProPublica in late 2011 and covers civil rights with a focus on segregation and discrimination in housing and schools. Her 2012 coverage of federal failures to enforce the landmark 1968 Fair Housing Act won several awards, including Columbia University’s Tobenkin Award for distinguished coverage of racial or religious discrimination. Prior to coming Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Frank Waln is an award-winning Sicangu Lakota artist, performer, and producer from the Rosebud Sioux Tribe. He currently lives in Chicago. Listen to the interview →
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Dr. Bettina L. Love is an award winning author and Associate Professor of Educational Theory & Practice at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on the ways in which urban youth negotiate Hip Hop music and culture to form social, cultural, and political identities to create new and sustaining ways of thinking about urban education and Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Kevin Beacham has been an MC, producer, artist manager, record promoter, journalist, DJ, radio show host, record label manager, and now back to radio show host. He first got his start in radio in April of 1995 on WNUR 89.3 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. His show Time Travel was a conceptual hip-hop show Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Kevin Coval is the poet The Chicago Tribune called "the voice of the new Chicago" and The Boston Globe says is the city's "unofficial poet laureate." Listen to the interview →
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Jeff Chang currently serves as the Executive Director of the Institute for Diversity in the Arts at Stanford University. Listen to the interview →
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José Olivarez is a poet from Calumet City, Illinois. He is a graduate of Harvard University and a founding member of the Teaching Artist Corps at Young Chicago Authors. Listen to the interview →
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Lili K is the 23 year old songstress whose name is quickly popping up in the music world. Her smooth and sultry sound is countered well by her quirky and energetic performances with her live band. Listen to the interview →
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Dr. Raphael Travis Jr., LCSW, is an Associate Professor at Texas State University – San Marcos School of Social Work. He holds degrees from University of Virginia, University of Michigan, and University of California at Los Angeles. Listen to the interview →
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MC Melodee has been active in the music industry for over 15 years. Next to being writer, performer and leader of her band La Melodia with whom she performed all over the globe, she leads a Peer Education Project and is director of a platform for female hiphop artists "Dam Dutchess" in her home base Amsterdam. Listen to the interview →
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Jamilah King is a writer based in New York City. Currently a senior editor at Colorlines, her writing focuses mostly on media, race, and culture. Listen to the interview →
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Toni Blackman is the first Hip Hop artist selected to work as a Cultural Ambassador with the US Department of State. Listen to the interview →
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Che “Rhymefest” Smith is the quintessential renaissance man as a father, husband, entrepreneur and raptivist. Listen to the interview →
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Psalm One, a.k.a Hologram Kizzie, is a multitalented musician, rapper, chemist, mentor, and philanthropist whose diverse, robust sound and wide-ranging content reflects her multitude of skills and life experiences. Listen to the interview →
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Jesse Childs (pka Nap Nat the Napi Natural) is a Hip Hop artist, author and youth educator living in Oakland, CA. Listen to the interview →
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YP is a rapper from Chicago’s Eastside. Listen to the interview →
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Queen GodIs – an international (Poet, Performance Artist, Artistic Director & Performance Art Therapist) whose work serves a host of communities seeking transformation through art. Listen to the interview →
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The first lady of Busta Rhymes’ Flipmode Squad is one of music’s most respected and premier “rapper’s rappers” – regardless of gender. Listen to the interview →
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ShowYouSuck thrives during his live set and never disappoints. He's given live hip-hop an entertainment standard. Listen to the interview →
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Per B. “BluCollaScholla” Kjaer holds a Master’s Degree in American Studies from SDU. He is the author of “…That Real Black Music”, an MA Thesis on Hip-Hop music in an African-American cultural-historical perspective. Listen to the interview →
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Emcee and community activist Jasiri X is the creative force and artist behind the ground breaking internet news series, This Week with Jasiri X. Listen to the interview →
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Amer F. Ahmed serves as Associate Director of Multi-Ethnic Student Affairs at the University of Michigan- Ann Arbor, Associate Faculty at the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication and a member of SpeakOut: Institute for Democratic Leadership and Culture. Listen to the interview →
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Andre “Add-2” Daniels is an MC hailing from Chicago. Listen to the interview →
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Masta Ace is one of the most imaginative, narrative and prolific lyricists ever to emerge from the mean streets of Brooklyn USA. Listen to the interview →
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Andreana Clay is a longtime of Oakland, CA and is an Associate Professor, Department of Sociology at San Francisco State University. Listen to the interview →
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Rev. Otis Moss III is part of a new generation of ministers committed to preaching prophetically that the message of love and justice are inseparable companions, forming the foundation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Listen to the interview →
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PHENOM, born Teh’Ray Hale in 1977, learned to rhyme at the becoming age of 13 in the back streets of Chicago, Illinois. In the 2000 Source Magazine Unsigned Hype Emcee Battle PHENOM earned 2nd place to Detroit Hip-Hop legend and D-12 member “PROOF” out of 1000 nationwide contestants. Before being signed to Focus Music Group’s Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Malia took over as Executive Director of Future Boston in November 2011 where she serves as chief operation officer of Future Boston, credited for taking Future Boston from concept into reality. Listen to the interview →
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Danon and Hosannah combine science with sociology to bring the caliber of hip hop UPPANOTCH. Listen to the interview →
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Eve Ewing is a writer and educator from Chicago. Listen to the interview →
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Pugs Atomz is an accomplished solo-artist who has graced the stage at some of the world’s largest music festivals including SXSW, Hip Hop Kemp,and Glastonbury. Listen to the interview →
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Kimeco is Allegra from the group Allegra Dolores. Listen to the interview →
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Julian currently serves as senior pastor of University Church in Chicago, and is a regular to Sojourners, UrbanFaith and Kidult publications. Listen to the interview →
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Asad Jafri is a global arts leader, cultural organizer, and multidisciplinary artist with a passion for sustainable social change. Listen to the interview →
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Rapsody is a North Carolina emcee signed with super producer 9th Wonder for Jamla Records. Listen to the interview →
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Yoli Zapata is the only femcee in the hip hop group P.U.B.L.I.C. O.F.F.E.N.D.E.R.S., a group recognized for speaking out about all types of oppression. Listen to the interview →
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2012 3Arts Teaching Artist Awardee, writer, performer avery r. young is a Cave Canem Fellow who’s artwork blends phonetics, linguistics, hymns, jazz and hip hop to depict the politics and inspiring attributes attached to the stories of a people. Listen to the interview →
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Syreeta Gates is an author, and the founder of The SWT Life, Curator for History MEETS Hip-Hop. Listen to the interview →
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Twin Cities born and raised, DisputeOne (formerly known as Extreme) has been part of the every growing hip-hop culture in Minnesota since anyone can remember. Listen to the interview →
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MC Tree was named one of the Best New Artists by Spin Magazine in August 2012. Listen to the interview →
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Marilyn Camacho, also known as Ruby Yo!, is a Puerto Rican emcee, singer, songwriter, and actress raised on Chicago’s south side’s of Pilsen and Gage Park. She is the middle child of 8 children, and started singing, writing poetry, and acting out scenes she wrote by the age of 10. While attending a performing arts Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Speech started the music group, Arrested Development. Listen to the interview →
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Christopher “Maddog” Thomas is a dancer and youth mentor. Listen to the interview →
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Marcia Alesan Dawkins, Ph.D. is a diversity-oriented, technology-loving intellectual entrepreneur from New York City. Listen to the interview →
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Brotha Onaci is a student, teacher, and turntable liberationist who uses DJing to bring progressive change to the world. Listen to the interview →
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Lady O is the Creative Director of Spoken Free Entertainment and the host of the Lady *O* Show. Listen to the interview →
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An activist by temperament, sixteen years ago with the idea to use “Edutainement” (KRS1) as a tool to inspire activism and collective healing”, Jacinda Bullie co founded Kuumba Lynx (KL) and is a wife and mother of three young warriors. Listen to the interview →
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A.M. (Abstrak Mind) has become one of Chicago’s most prolific artists to hit the rap radar in quite some time. Listen to the interview →
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Sam Seidel is the author of Hip Hop Genius: Remixing High School Education. Listen to the interview →
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Sharrieff Muhammad is a founding member of Tomorrow Kings Chicago Hip Hop Collective. Listen to the interview →
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Alexander Fruchter is the founder and current EIC of hip hop music and culture site “Ruby Hornet” as well as co-owner of the independent record label Closed Sessions and an adjunct at Columbia College. He is a Hyde Park native, graduate of Indiana University, lover of the White Sox and Hip Hop culture. Listen to the interview →
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Ebony A. Utley, Ph.D., is author of the critically-acclaimed book, Rap and Religion: Understanding The Gangsta's God. Listen to the interview →
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Bazooka Joe Lopez is a DJ/Producer/All-around Hip-Hop junkie and collector since the early 80's. Listen to the interview →
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Sage Xaxua Morgan-Hubbard is the new Academic Outreach Coordinator in the School of Fine Arts at Columbia College Chicago. Listen to the interview →
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Pancho McFarland, PhD, is a former b-boy, current hip hop head, professor of sociology at Chicago State University, author, martial artist and father. Listen to the interview →
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A 30 year old Chicago rapper and an employee with the Youth Advocate Program. Listen to the interview →
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Leida “Lady Sol” Villegas-Garcia is a street dance professional from Chicago who is recognized globally as a dance manager, choreographer, and youth arts educator. Listen to the interview →
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David Stovall is Associate Professor of Educational Policy Studies and African-American Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Over the past eleven years, he has been involved in social justice education efforts in Chicago Public Schools and across the country. Currently he works with faculty and students at Social Justice High School in Chicago. Listen to the interview →
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Imagine, if you can, the horrible feelings of dealing with death; not just once, but on many occasions. Imagine, if you can, having your best friend die in your arms, because there wasn’t a damn thing you could do to stop it. Imagine being shot for the first time, at the tender age thirteen, while Read the full article... Listen to the interview →
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Sengvilay "Kid Jungle" Aphay is a breakdancer from Chicago. Listen to the interview →
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Amina Norman-Hawkins is a writer and poet. Listen to the interview →
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Hannaan "HB Sol the Policy King" Joplin is a rapper from Chicago. Listen to the interview →
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Nate Mathews is a student of African and Middle East history currently pursuing his doctorate at Northwestern University. He is the author of the poetry collection, River of Desire, Ocean of Love, and founder of the website Azanian Sea. Listen to the interview →
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Shannon Matesky is an artist, activist, educator from Berkeley CA. Listen to the interview →
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Chicago born and raised, Jasson Perez is a community representative for SEIU Local 73 as well as one of the members of the rap group BBU. Listen to the interview →
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Rhymes and Reasons is a series of interviews with hip-hop heads who talk about their lives in the context of songs that matter to them.