Humans of Hip-Hop, is there Humanity in Hip-Hop? MusiCares Presents 'Humans of Hip-Hop: DC'
MusiCares is a charity that has provided Millions in health, financial, and rehabilitation resources to music people in times of need. MusiCares helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. - https://musicares.org/about
This Tuesday night I was able to get up close & personal and see why MusiCares is so vital to the music community and its culture.
Mental Health is such a new world to explore and though we have been diving in it and uncovering the threads of it for some years now, there's a world that isn't always too familiar with it and that is HIP-HOP.
Turning 50 this year, the genre that has helped anchor and usher in so many movements of real life and art has also been a world that has challenged the mind and not often opened to the realm of exploring what is mental health.
Though more artists, producers, radio heads and those alike are speaking about mental health, the discussion needs to be dived deeper. Well lets just say Tuesday night, we went for a dive. A panel full of grammy members, recording artists, tv/radio personalities, music curators and pushers sat together and dove into the world of mental health.
Entitled ‘A Pulse on Mental Health’, we saw Joe Clair, Steph Lova, Kokayi, Deetranada and Tuma Basa speak on not only the history and essence of hip hop, but subject of mental wellness and what does that look like and what does that feel like, especially in the world of DMV, with violence on the rise.
The discussion, held at the beloved Songbyrd in the northeastern region of DC, spoke to the wide range of music connoisseurs merging the different aspects of generational views on Mental Health. The beautiful thing about this was, it was our chance to see our giants here in the nation's capital be human, be vulnerable and be relatable, as they shared their life experiences with us allowing us to see more of ourselves in their stories.
So much was discussed, but my key takeover was to understand self and take whatever journey that is to make sure that self is aware, self is heard, self is seen, and self is happy & safe.
Now on its way to Philly, the lineup for the city will be Lady B, Wallo, Freeway, Ms. Jade & Dr. Monica Campbell!
