Hip hop made its way into the SouthEast community on Saturday February 13^th at the Malcolm X Library. M1, or Motulu Olugbala of Dead Prez was invited by the group A.R.S.O., the African Revolutionary Student Organization, and Social Justice teacher, Mr. Ochoa, to have a discussion about the importance of community involvement through organization and music. The participants of this event included high school students, teachers, community members, and local university students.

Throughout the event, live poetry was performed in the mean time before the main attraction arrived. Upon his arrival, an awesome presentation was given by M1 that explained the roots of Dead Prez, how it has progressed and essentially, how he came to be involved with InPDUM, the International  People’s Democratic Uhuru Movement. The space provided for Q & A gave way to a diverse pool of questions that ranged from M1’s personal life to how hip hop can be used to empower women. Coming towards the end of the day, M1 awed the crowd with a powerful analysis of why community involvement is so integral to community success, leaving the audience with an inspirational feeling. His presence was extremely heart-felt and his humbleness could be sensed by all who attended the event. This would not have made possible without the hard work and effort of Deonte Victorian, the A.R.S.O. president and Mr. Ochoa, teacher in the Center for Social Justice.  Photos by Ray Balanga