The children we work with are astonishingly resilient. Doug E Fresh once said to me; “they are not waiting for superman, they are waiting for us”. For you and me. Waiting for us to transform their noose of hopelessness into a crown of hope; to give them the tools they need in order to have a shot at success on an unforgiving playing field. Tools that are basic rights in most modern societies, like a good education and good health. Without these there can be no tangible aspirations, no self-esteem, just a lifetime held down by mental shackles, battling diseases and broken dreams. We at Hip Hop Public Health believe that there are degrees of resistance, which we must all partake of – from giving a pair of boots to a homeless person on a cold winters day to volunteering for community service or supporting a local school. We have chosen to partake in this resistance by providing health education through music. Our inspiration is derived from the universal magic of music – the only language without borders – and is designed to enlighten our youth through life-saving flow, melody, and cultural cues.
Knowledge saves lives. It needs to be effectively transferred from person to person, and perfected from generation to generation. From boiling drinking water in an African village in order to prevent diarrheal illness to knowing that getting to the hospital within 3 hours of stroke symptom onset can qualify you for a special medicine that can reverse the signs of stroke. From knowing how to perform CPR on a loved one who just collapsed onto the ground to teaching a child healthy habits in order to stave off obesity and diabetes. Hip Hop Public Health has made a mission of this opportunity; to end health illiteracy and the premature deaths associated with it; to use music as our bridge to this end; to begin with our youth and believe in their power to influence the world.
Join us today. Let us sow ourselves together with the thread of common cause so that we can cast a net large enough to rescue as many people as possible from the disease of poor health knowledge.
By Dr. Olajide Williams (The Hip Hop MD)
