Chicago Hip-Hop To The Rescue!
HIP-HOP
CULTURE OFFERS MORE THAN JUST ENTERTAINMENT IN CHICAGO NEIGHBORHOODS.
There’s no debate Chicago is a
world-class metropolis. And we know it’s a first rate destination for music,
arts, and culture. And our music roots run deep. From the early Chicago Boogie
Woogie days, through the waves of Jazz, Rock, and Soul; to the emergence and
domination of House music, Chicago has always been innovative and on the pulse
of music & pop culture. And now
Chicago hip-hop is featured prominently on the world’s music stage. With the commercial rise of artists like
Common, Twista, Lupe Fiasco, and of course Kanye West, Chicago is now known and
respected for its Hip-Hop. But
something else has also been brewing in Chicago’s underground for quite some
time now, and it’s staring to create some major ripple effects.
The fusions of art and community,
hip-hop and activism, youth and empowerment are not new concepts, but Chicago
hip-hop artists and community groups are implementing new strategies in inner
city neighborhoods that are reaching and uplifting young people. With all the negative controversy
surrounding rap music these days, one might be surprised to know that Hip-Hop
has a heart, a soul, and a very positive and progressively conscious agenda.
Community and arts groups are
developing formulas for change that begins with young people, and they are
using hip-hop in a big way to engage, empower, and mobilize youth to create the
change they want to see in their neighborhoods. Kids are learning some
important life lessons in critical thinking, team building, and defining their
place in the world. Hip-hop is giving them a key to unlock their optimum
potential, and open the door to a brighter future.
We could begin our tour on the
city’s south side at the Ark of St Sabina in Chicago’s Auburn-Gresham
neighborhood where Hip-Hop Detoxx has modeled a unique holistic hip-hop
approach. Since detoxification refers the process of removing poisons from the
body, Hip-Hop Detoxx has developed a formula that uses ‘Hip-Hop’ as the tool to
help remove the poisons of unhealthy lifestyle choices and negative influences,
and helps strengthen the socio-emotional life skills of youth and teen members.
Founded in 2004 by Enoch Muhammad and Kesha Wells, HHD has presented workshops
across the country, reaching over 100,000 individuals. They now offer programs & workshops from
Youth Leadership, Talent Development & Music Studio Apprenticeships, to
Food & Drug Addiction Prevention, Entrepreneurship, Family Mediation
Workshops, and so many more. They
provide services for teens and young adults with solutions that consider
healthy social, emotional, and physically development. They highlight the
interplay between the family, school, community, socio-economic status and
environment and provide the tools that inspire hope, change, and truth. 
Kuumba Lynx (KL) an Arts
Partner with the Chicago Park District, and provides free drop-in arts classes
from their home base in Uptown’s Clarendon Park Community Center at 4501 N.
Clarendon Avenue. An an arts and edutainment organization formed by three young
women, Jaquanda Villegas, Jacinda Bullie and Leida Garcia, in 1996, their
mission is as important today as it was 16 years ago. Kuumba Lynx provides
access to programs that preserve, promote and present urban arts & culture;
empower youth and their communities, and use hip-hop culture as a vehicle for
inter-generational and cross-cultural dialogue. In conjunction with community
arts programming, Kuumba Lynx developed a traveling intergenerational
performance ensemble, comprised of children as young as eight years old. KL
believes it is important to help develop healthy hearts, minds, and bodies so
that strong community foundations can thrive.
They are dedicated to providing programs for creative expression &
literacy, and work diligently to increase social consciousness, community
analysis & exchange, global action, inner peace, and universal freedom. KL
offers Arts Residencies and Workshops, Kuumba Lynx Performance Ensemble (KLPE),
and Community Cultural Events. These programs push community reflection,
critical thinking and support the active exchange of ideas. http://www.kuumbalynx.org, http://youtu.be/B47h85Sr2nQ 
Also in the Uptown neighborhood Connect Force uses instruction in the
core hip-hop elements including breakdancing, graffiti art, MCing, DJing, and
music production, as artistic expressions to bring together a diverse group of
youth and community members to promote a positive, healthy and productive way
of living. Started in 2003 by Justin Grey, Connect Force offers hands-on
opportunities for youth to develop their artistic ability, physical fitness and
critical life skills through a combination of structured and self-directed activities
including community service projects, monthly performances, peer-led workshops
and social justice events. They recently presented a Back To School
Jam free to all children, in partnership with one of Chicago’s
premier crews, the Chi Rock Nation. Together they collected donations and distributed
school supplies to hundreds of local children at a daylong event hosted at Alternatives on Sheridan Road. In addition to giveaways for
students, there were free haircuts, manicures, food, entertainment, and many arts
activities. Connect Force is an oasis in Uptown for community empowerment, portrayed in the dynamic work they do! https://www.facebook.com/connectforce,
http://youtu.be/r-gafnPUSk0 
Southwest Youth Collaborative’s, University
of Hip-Hop located at 6400 S. Kedzie in the Chicago Lawn/Marquette Park
neighborhood combines art and the urban landscape through dance, poetry, music,
mural arts and gardening in an environment that promotes respect for all
cultures and the world around us. 
‘UHIPHOP’ (where hip-hop stands for
Healthy Independent People Helping Other People) examines the historical
socio-cultural backgrounds of its participants, and engages them in the study
of diverse cultural identities and expressions. They offer multi-disciplinary
courses in dee-jaying, rap, graffiti/mural arts, and break-dancing, as well as
classes in political education, outdoor and environmental education, humanities
and social sciences. Working with professional artist, participants learn the
histories, philosophies, and methods of urban art forms with particular
emphasis on the values of the Youth Liberation Movement. Community service is a
central component of this program and typically involves replacing graffiti
vandalism with professional-quality murals, and hosting open mic nights for the
community. http://www.swyc.org/programs/University-of-Hip-Hop,
http://youtu.be/09wbJKXPueM
Developed and facilitated by two
Project NIA volunteers in Rogers Park, Ethan Ucker and Emmanuel Andre launched Circles
and Ciphers, a leadership development program for young men who are
prison, court, and gang involved. Through the use of improvisational
hip-hop freestyle ciphers, as well as talking and peacemaking circles,
participants become community organizers.
Participants conduct research on re-entry, identify beneficial resources
available to young men returning to their neighborhoods after incarceration or
disengagement, and they facilitate public forum to present research findings,
as well as developing and touring a youth-led street law curriculum to CPS high
schools in partnership with First Defense Legal Aid, and the "Know Your
Rights!" project of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern
University School of Law. http://www.project-nia.org/circles-and-ciphers.php.
This list only skims the surface of
one of the ways hip-hop is playing a major role in the lives of young people,
and helping to inspiring progressive and empowering change in Chicago
neighborhoods. Hip-hop is more than music here. In some cases it’s a safety
net, in others it is an outlet for creative expression and individualism, but
in many cases hip-hop is the last resort… and when all else fails, they bring
hip-hop to the rescue.
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