Mic Crenshaw, Saturday, May 26

[May 23rd, 2007] [HIP-HOP] In 2004, politically charged Portland MC Mic Crenshaw took a trip to Rwanda he'll never forget. In the month he spent there as a guest of the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker group dedicated to debt relief and community-building in Africa, Crenshaw says he made a lot of friends and a few promises. Primary among those promises was Crenshaw's pledge to help send computers to Rwandan community centers, a goal he is in the process of achieving thanks in part to donations by Free Geek and CTL computers of Portland. On May 26, Crenshaw and his newly formed Global Family Network (globalfam.org) hope to move one step closer by raising money through a benefit concert starring radical hip-hop outfit Dead Prez. Crenshaw spoke with WW via telephone from Hawaii, where he recently toured.

WW : Why is it important to you to help Rwandans?
Crenshaw: When I went there in 2004, it changed me on a spiritual level. Being able to meet people and see firsthand all the potential, all the beauty, and also what's not right with their situation. A lot of people don't have access to opportunities even though people are getting filthy rich off exploiting the resources in Africa. People are not able to compete on a certain level because they don't have computers, or even clean water. It's absurd. I visited community centers and saw kids trying to learn to use computers on a cardboard replica of a computer.

How difficult is forming an organization like Global Fam?
Global Fam happened overnight. There was about a month between the conversation [between Crenshaw and co-founder/Jefferson High substitute teacher Morgan Delaney] about starting it and the Dead Prez show manifesting and the computers being donated and the website being up and running. The gates just kinda opened, and it's not because it was some whimsical flight of fancy—we both have been working in the schools and with music for years, and I think the time was just right.

Was it important for the event that Dead Prez's mindset meshes with yours and with the ideology of Global Fam?
It is, man. Once I told them what the cause was, [Dead Prez's Stic.man] specifically was like, "Yeah man, I want to do anything I can to help rebuild African communities." It's like, you can talk about revolutionary ideals, but you really have to be able to do things that make a difference in the lives of people. That's where the integrity of what you're talking about starts to manifest. That's what I've always tried to be about, and it's a lifelong commitment.