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On July 7th, Newark mayor Ras Baraka, son of legendary activist Amiri Baraka spoke to Huffington Post Live about the legacy left behind by his father who passed away last year at the age of 79. The mayor remembered his father's work, that championed the black experience and was very divisive amongst critics. "Some of the problems we have can begin being addressed by art," he said. "People don't necessarily believe or can't see that. I think you do better dropping a thousand artists into a community than a thousand cops. So I think my father's impact, even on my personal life, has been great." Amiri Baraka is best known for being a poet and playwright, as well as an integral part of the Black Arts Movement of the 1960's and 1970's. Baraka's career spanned nearly fif

This Sunday, pastors in primarily black churches across America will preach about the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the African-American community. The fourth national Day Of Unity, organized by the NAACP, will bring the usually taboo subject into the heart of the African-American community through a place of power. Rev. Tony Lee, the pastor of Maryland's Community of Hope AME Church, is one of several clergy members to get tested for HIV in front of his entire church. The visual is a reminder to the members that HIV awareness is also an important part of the social justice fight in the African-American community to this day. "Anywhere there are instances of people falling short of the fullness God wants for them it's important for the Church to step in," Lee said in an interview

Kendrick Lamar has taken the time to try and unite warring gangs as well as bringing attention to different social issues, for as long as he's been on the music industry's radar. Lamar has used lyrics as well as album artwork to unite people, and is now moving to a whole new medium: Fashion. In his song "i" Kendrick says, "Brother Kendrick Lamar! He's not a rapper, he's a writer, he's an author! And if you read between the lines, we'll learn how to love one another! But you can't do that...I said you can't do that - without loving yourself first." Kendrick Lamar has teamed with Finish Line and Reebok to bring back the Reebok Ventilator, a sneaker that first came out 25 years ago. "It was really about getting to that success level where you can go back to your neighborhoo

At the stroke of midnight on July 4th, Lil Wayne dropped his newest album "FWA" (short for "Free Weezy Album") exclusively on Jay-Z's website, Tidal. The new album has 15 tracks, featuring over 65 minutes of music, with appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Cory Gunz, and Bibi Bourelly - better known as the 20 year old girl who wrote Rihanna's "Bitch Better Have My Money". "FWA" was released six months after Wayne's previous mixtape "Sorry 4 the Wait 2" came out as a consolatory gift to fans, who are waiting on the release of his indefinitely delayed fifth album "Tha Carter V". The delayed fifth album in Tha Carter series is due to Wayne's disagreements with his record label and mentor Bryan "Birdman" Williams, saying that the label withheld two albums from him as well as money that's o

Olubowale Victor Akintimehin, better known by his stage name Wale, released his third studio album titled "The Album About Nothing" earlier this year. In true contrast to the title, each song has a different message all accompanied by different snippets of Jerry Seinfeld's voice, enhancing the listening experience as a whole. As you go through the album, each song that comes up gives you something new to think about, whether you want it to or not. Wale looks to himself on this album, with the guest list only containing five names, it's truly an album that gives you a look into his thoughts. With a song like "The Helium Balloon", Wale gives a look into his sometimes tumultuous relationship with his fans both old and new saying, "Came through with Ross, written' bangers for y'all. But

Only a couple days after his opening performance at the annual BET Awards, Kendrick Lamar released the music video for his newest single "Alright". The single, produced by Pharrell Williams, is the third single off of his highly acclaimed album To Pimp a Butterfly. The video for this song was directed by the very well known Colin Tilley, and was shot in black and white, which drew more attention to the powerful imagery put forth by both Tilley and Lamar. In one scene a police officer is shown shooting a fleeing man in the back, which could undoubtedly be a statement on the number of unarmed black men we've seen being killed in the news. Another scene shows a simulation of a rapper being shot off the top of a light pole by a patrol man. Tilley spoke to MTV News about the m