The last few weeks have been very exciting for all of us here at Hip Hop Public Health! We have received a frenzy of media attention since the announcement of the September 30th release of the Songs for a Healthier America album, which we co-produced with the Partnership for a Healthier America, an organization founded in conjunction with, but independent from Let’s Move!, and whose Honorary Chair is First Lady Michelle Obama. The album includes 19 songs designed to get kids and their families excited about healthy living behaviors and features many celebrity artists. We are grateful to all of the celebrities who lent their time to the album and made this project a huge success! Our media mentions include news outlets such as the New York Times (“Music Stars Join First Lady to Get Youths Off the Couch”), U.S. News and World Report (“Michelle Obama’s Newest Initiative: Using Hip-Hop to Fight Obesity”), The Washington Post (“Pop music album inspired by Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move!”), Time (“Michelle Obama to Release a Hip Hop Album”), Today News (“Michelle Obama makes kids’ hip-hop video cameo”), MSNBC Morning Joe (“Michelle Obama continues obesity fight with a musical collaboration”), ABC News (“Michelle Obama to release new rap album”), Mashable (“First Lady Michelle Obama’s Hip-Hop Album Is Not a Joke”), Entertainment Weekly (“Michelle Obama working on ‘Healthier America’ hip-hop album”), Huffington Post: Black Voices (“Michelle Obama Hip Hop Album: First Lady Fights Obesity Through Music (VIDEO)”), USA Today (“Obama’s new anti-obesity weapon: Hip-hop”), The Boston Globe (“First Lady Michelle Obama now a rap star?”) and The Wall Street Journal: Speakeasy (“Rappers Lean on Michelle Obama For Inspiration”); music industry news sites such as Rolling Stone (“Michelle Obama Plans Hip-Hop Album”), Billboard (“Michelle Obama Cooking Up Hip-Hop Health Compilation”), XXL (“Michelle Obama Is Releasing A Hip-Hop Album Featuring Doug E. Fresh, DMC And Ashanti”), All Hip Hop (“Michelle Obama Is 1st First Lady To Release Hip Hop Album”), Complex Music (“Michelle Obama Releasing Hip-Hop Album to Promote “Let’s Move” Campaign”) and Pitchfork (“Michelle Obama to put out hip-hop album”); and international media outlets like Sky News Australia (“Michelle Obama to star in hip-hop video“), Spiegel Online (“Gesund durch HipHop: Yeah, Brokkoli”), The Independent (“Michelle Obama launches hip-hop album with Blink-182 and Run-D.M.C. artists”), The Telegraph (“Michelle Obama releases hip-hop album”) and Voice of Russia (“US first lady to release hip-hop album”).
We are thrilled to have all this attention and hope that people all over the world will hear our music and learn how to make positive behavior changes in their lives. As the Hip Hop Doc said in one of his interviews, “Throughout history, music has been a great teacher and motivator, from ABC’s and nursery rhymes to religious hymns and national anthems. It is time to harness this power for health.”
