Jasiri X: 1Hood: Hip Hop & Activism in Action

Jasiri X is the founder of 1HOOD Media, an activist, and a renowned recording artist, among many other titles. Jasiri X is the first independent Hip-Hop artist to be awarded an Honorary Doctorate, which he received from Chicago Theological Seminary in 2016. Jasiri first hit the world stage in 2007 with his viral song Free The Jena 6, and since then, he’s gone on to affect real change in many arenas outside of music. He has performed his music from the Smithsonian to the Apollo Theater and has discussed his views on Hip-Hop, race, and politics at leading institutions across the nation, including Harvard University, University of Chicago, NYU, Yale, and Stanford, among others.

In 2016, he was commissioned by The Open Society Foundation to travel to Columbia to create a film (War on Us with Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist Rhymefest) that highlights the international effects of US drug policy in South America. One of his generation's most important political voices, in 2017, he received the Nathan Cummings Foundation Fellowship to start the 1Hood Artivist Academy.

This Episode’s Heavy-hitter’s:

Jasiri actually got into activism as a way to avoid getting into trouble at school. When he moved to a predominantly white school, he was getting into fights over people making racist comments towards him. After his mom told him that he couldn’t fight his way through his problems, he found a different way to fight the issues he was facing.

Jasiri started a hip-hop club at the Pittsburgh high school that Wiz Khalifa and Mac Miller both attended. Each of them broke before Jasiri and helped pave the way for his own come-up in the music industry.

Jasiri also had the pleasure of working with and learning from legendary writer and lyricist Rhymefest, who has penned many hits, including many of Kanye West’s major records.

Speaking on his work with the Nation of Islam and particularly meeting Minister Louis Farrakhan, Jasiri says that the biggest misconception about both is that they hate white people. Jasiri’s work with them has mainly been about promoting inclusivity, particularly with the founders of Black Lives Matter, some of whom are members of the LGBTQ+ community, to make sure they weren’t alienated from the Nation’s own movements.

Jasiri’s conversation with Lupe Fiasco started as a result of him having a conversation with the 1hood community. Lupe saw that conversation happening online, said, “I’ll be there in 5 minutes,” and actually showed up and kicked it.

To learn more, check out 1HoodMedia: https://www.1hood.org/ 

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