H2ED Fellows
GENESIS BE
Genesis Briggs (AKA Genesis Be AKA Lo-Key) is a hip-hop artist and student in the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music and Political Science at NYU. She is currently spearheading the STRIVE Till I Rise Campaign. Through workshops, College tours, online media, mixtape releases, block parties and art, STRIVE Till I Rise works to empower and educate the youth about voting practices, responsible consumerism, safe sex, how to positively exercise their individual influence and how economic trends can affect their college and career opportunities. On April 19th 2011, Be will be releasing her 4th album, “Mississippi To Manhattan”, under her production company Open Sky Artworks (O.S.A., www.openskyartworks.com). O.S.A focuses on promoting and developing young talent who show an interest in positive social change through art. Genesis’ company does not just focus on music but is receptive to all artists including painters, poets, filmmakers, illustrators, authors and more.
At age 14, Genesis released her first mixtape, which introduced the young lyricist to the grimy underground rap scene brewing in The Gulf Coast Region (New Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile and East Florida). She became a regular at rap battles and was soon winning talent shows all across the coast. Her lyrics ranged from politically conscious to humorously parodic and it wasn’t long before local DJs and radio stations began taking notice. By age 17, Genesis had opened for major acts such as Lil Webbie, The Ying-Yang Twins, Trillville and 8Ball & MJG. That same year, she released the first in a series of three albums, titled “17 In America.” Unable to find a reliable manager, she put her budding entrepreneurial skills to work by seeking her own distribution, booking her own shows, printing her own promotional materials and carrying out an intense marketing campaign in Southern Mississippi and New Orleans. She began receiving recognition in the form of radio spins, newspaper/magazine articles and a demand for live performances at schools and community centers.
After Genesis’s hometown of Biloxi, Mississippi was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, she took a break from her music to help rebuild her community. Seeing her neighbors come together to help each other inspired her to work harder to bring attention to the issues she saw harming her community. Along with her three brothers, she rebuilt homes and worked closely with youth in the community to bring back a sense of hope. Partnering with The Mississippi AIDS Task Force, she produced, recorded and shot a video for “HIV/AIDS”, a song that educated local children about AIDS prevention. During this time, she released her second album “18 In America” and shot a video for the popular single “Did U Get Ya FEMA Check.” The song was a comical satirical reference to her experience during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The song was played in heavy rotation in The Gulf Coast area and was deemed very controversial. Genesis’s community service includes participating in the cause “Justice For Jess Williams,” creating a petition to re-title a community college named for Jeff Davis, protesting along with members of The Society of the Open Sky to remove the Confederate Flag from public places in Mississippi, and volunteering with The Gulf Coast Youth Symphony and Mississippi AIDS Task Force. Genesis continues her community service in New York at elementary schools in Harlem and the Lower East Side. Her third album, “19 In America”, is set to be released in August 2009. http://www.genesisbe.com
JEN JOHNSON
I am an educator, community organizer, and social justice activist. My work is dedicated to the economic, political, cultural, and social empowerment of underrepresented/underserved populations through debate education and Hip-Hop. My research as a H2ED fellow is to develop a multimedia Hip-Hop debate curriculum to assist others in facilitating youths' incorporation of Hip-Hop into public and competitive debate around the world. My motivation for this work started brewing when I began debating in high school and later in college when I was blessed with the opportunity to work with so many incredible young visionaries from around the country.
I have coached debate for twelve years including teaching at debate institutes at colleges and universities. In addition to debate instruction, since 2001 I directed two youth education and empowerment non-profit organizations and Urban Debate Leagues in seven school districts during. One of the nonprofits was the Seattle Debate Foundation (SDF), a 501(c)(3) social justice organization committed to the critical literacy and empowerment of urban youth through debate education.
During my time as the SDF's executive director I was fortunate to partner with dozens of public schools, social justice organizations, Hip-Hop artists, and community leaders from around the country, all of whom where instrumental in the success of the foundation, as well as facilitating the establishment of the country's first hip hop debate institute, a two-week residential camp for high school youth at the University of Washington in 2006.
This hip hop debate programming and the youth involved have received national and international acclaim including recognition in Newsweek Magazine and Zip Radio in Japan and in 2008 I was named a finalist for the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King County Executive Awards for Excellence in Hip Hop. A glimpse of this Hip-Hop debate curriculum will be available to the public as a chapter in the Hip Hop Education Guidebook Volume II. I received my BA in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and I am currently attending graduate school at New York University researching Hip-Hop debate, media literacy, social movements, and education reform. I am also an associate of the Hip Hop Education Center at NYU's Metropolitan Center for Urban Education and teach debate in Brooklyn.
FELICIA PRIDE
I'm a writer, educator and creator. In 2004, I founded BackList, an organization that specializes in producing engaging and interactive content across platforms-from books to film to curricula to events-within the realms of media, entertainment, and education. BackList has worked with an array of including Common Ground Foundation (founded by rapper/actor Common), SEED School of DC, HarperCollins, 100 Black Men, and Books for Boys.
I'm the author of five books including the motivational hip-hop essay collection, The Message: 100 Life Lessons from Hip-Hop's Greatest Songs which has been used in educational institutions around the country. My YA novel, Patterson Heights was a 2010 American Library Association Pick for Reluctant Readers and I was tapped by Simon & Schuster to write two children's books based on the awarding-winning television show, Everybody Hates Chris. As a professional writer for more than ten years, I was the former book columnist for The Root, the original book blogger for AOL Black Voices, and a contributor to Publishers Weekly. My work has appeared in VIBE, Popmatters.com, and the Baltimore magazine.
I've riffed on youth development, media, popular culture, hip-hop, writing, publishing, and literacy at schools, institutions, and events around the country including NYU, Bennett College, Congressional Black Caucus, George Mason University, Howard University, and the United Nations Association. As a teaching artist, I've provided workshops to countless students and educators and I currently teach at Howard Community College in Maryland. I has an M.A. in writing and publishing from Emerson College and have been featured by USA Today, NPR's "Talk of the Nation," and the Baltimore Sun for my work.
By developing and producing two transmedia projects, one based on my book THE MESSAGE, and the other which looks at hip-hop's transition into electoral politics, my fellowship will focus on the intersections between hip-hop, new media, and education.
CHRIS KAZI ROLLE
My name is Chris Kazi Rolle. I am an artist and social entrepreneur. My life mission is to use the arts and entertainment to inspire, educate and empower the voice of, young people. I am the founder of the Hip Hop Project, an award winning, arts education organization that uses Hip Hop and popular culture to engage young people. I am survivor of child abuse, foster care, homelessness and incarceration and share his story of trail to triumph in All Things Are Possible, a forthcoming, youth focused, self help book that gives people practical tools on how to deal with life's adversities.
I travel nationally and internationally inspiring audiences through speaking and performances. I have been featured on VH1, CNN, CBS and The Oprah Winfrey Show in a segment called people using their lives. My work and life story is also the focus of the feature length film entitled, The Hip Hop Project (www.thehiphopproject.org), executive produced by Bruce Willis and Queen Latifah. My latest initiative, Together Apart is an innovative touring play/forum designed to create safe spaces, on and offline, where single and committed men and women can engage in open and honest conversations about dating and relationships. I am originally from Nassau, Bahamas and now I reside in Brooklyn, New York.
All Things Are Possible is a multi-disciplinary initiative designed to balance academic filled days by providing "edutainment" styled assemblies that focus on infusing schools environments with an overwhelming amount of inspiration.
SAM SELLERS
They called me Mr. Sellers when I taught 8th grade social studies; since stepping into the world of arts education it's just Sam, though many know me as Rabbi Darkside, MC/DJ/Beatboxer. Born in Buffalo, NY, I've spent the last 10 years living in Brooklyn, working in the NYC Public Schools, freestyling in city cyphers, building a catalog of musical releases and touring internationally. The art of collaboration and the tenets of Hip Hop culture have driven my endeavors, from the stage to the studio to the classroom. Currently I am working on co-developing groundbreaking rap-based test prep curriculum, titled "Fresh Prep."
Hard work, good people and serendipity have allowed me to travel the globe under the banner of Say Word Entertainment, touring Europe, South America and the U.S, and being featured on releases from France, Denmark, Germany, Czech Republic and Brazil. I've had the honor of rocking alongside Talib Kweli, Slick Rick, The Last Poets, DJ Rob Swift, The Roots, and teaching poetry master classes with DMC and Pharaohe Monch. You can catch my work featured in publications ranging from URB Magazine to TV Guide to the Village Voice to the New York Times, and on MTV, MTV2, BET, NBC and Showtime.
Fresh Prep is a new and innovative approach to raising student achievement on the Regents Exams that fuses Hip Hop music with the New York State core curriculum. Drawing from current research and best practices in student engagement, verbal memory, and test preparation, the curriculum features vocabulary-building, multiple-choice, test taking strategies, and essay writing songs and activities in a format that makes studying fresh.
JOHAN THOMAS
Born and raised in San Francisco's Fillmore district, I celebrate my community's rich culture in the way I walk, talk and through my entrepreneurial pursuits. Sports were my way out. In 2000, I accepted a full scholarship to Oregon State University, where I played football under coach Dennis Erickson. After two years, I transferred to Lehigh University to pursue a more rigorous academic life. The experience was my first on the east coast and a life-changing journey into the power of my mind. I graduated in 2004 and a year later moved to New York to complete to attended Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. Since graduating, I've worked to build my skills as a media producer, marketer and entrepreneur. I consider myself to be something a teacher that uses untraditional means and tools.
TROUBL is a learning laboratory that bridges the gap between hip-hop and education. The name, born from a tradition of individuals have long worked against the hoarders of knowledge, from communities who have had to struggle for equal access to education, and to the disenfranchised, disengaged students who are considered trouble by their teachers, police, the media, etc. Troubl.org is our online home, serving as the voice of the brand, delivering thought provoking media and fostering conversation with the goal of building a community that promotes learning. TROUBL is the audacious attitude needed to defy the culture of ignorance and apathy. The brand captures this spirit through media initiatives, events, merchandise, etc.
TRACEE WORLEY
I am a Brooklyn-based artist and curriculum developer who has worked closely with public schools in California and New York in several capacities to support school improvement and reform initiatives. For over 8 years, I have worked in New York City public schools as a teacher and professional developer, using the arts and popular culture to help students and teachers become more active and enthusiastic in the learning process. I hold a B.A. in African-American Studies from UC Berkeley, a M.A. In Education from Brooklyn College, and a M.S.W. from Columbia University.
Fresh Prep is a new and innovative approach to raising student achievement on the Regents Exams that fuses hip-hop music with the New York State core curriculum. Drawing from current research and best practices in student engagement, verbal memory, and test preparation, the curriculum features vocabulary-building, multiple-choice, test taking strategies, and essay writing songs and activities in a format that makes studying fresh.