Vote Hip Hop Contest taking entries until Nov. 1

talib-kweli, Vote Hip Hop Contest taking entries until Nov. 1, World News & Views $500 prizes for winners in 3 categories!

by Ambessa Negus

Wiretap and the Gen Vote coalition are sponsoring VoteHipHop – a contest open to young artists 18-30 years.

Upload your work: Rappers, producers, spoken word performers and graf artists who want to express why they’re voting this election and what issues matter most to them can submit music, a video or graphic arts piece to VoteHipHop.org, www.votehiphop.org/upload/.

The deadline for entries is extended to Nov. 1.

There are $500 grand prizes for the winners in each category. Winners’ music and videos will be featured on BET, Wiretap and other media outlets and get to attend an awards ceremony in Oakland, Calif.

We also encourage all young activists to read and sign the Youth Agenda, a statement that will be presented to the next president outlining what young people expect from the next administration.

I encourage you to tell all voting age youth about VoteHipHop and get them involved in this dope opportunity!

By putting the elements of Hip Hop to work for civil rights and social justice, Vote Hip Hop (www.votehiphop.com) allows young people from all over the world to express their political selves through their culture, Hip Hop.

“Historically, hip hop has been more than entertainment. It has motivated movements and been the voice of young people hungry for change,” says Jamilah King, hip-hop activist and editor of www.WiretapMag.org.

By uploading their creative voice or visual art, Vote Hip Hop artists will be inspiring millions of young people to take notice of the issues that affect us all.

The top entries rated by site visitors and Vote Hip Hop judges, including Talib Kweli, will be used by youth organizers in national voter registration drives and reposted on BET.com and by WiretapMag.org.

More importantly, Vote Hip Hop provides a venue for artists and the young people they inspire to become active in their communities around the issues they care about. Generation Vote, working with over 1.5 million young people, has created the first-ever national Youth Agenda (www.genvote.org), highlighting nine priority election issues and the Alliance’s collective vision for positive social change.

Contact Ambessa Negus at ambessa@votehiphop.org.