Edited by Annah Mason
Every so often, an idea turns heads—and hearts—in a way that makes Skoll World Forum history. When health education nonprofit and Skoll grantee Hip Hop Public Health joined the main stage in April, we learned about the vital connection between music and behavioral health transformation. Founder Dr. Olajide Williams shared the impact of culturally-informed health communication, punctuated by the lived experiences of hip hop artists Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Sister Fa, and ALI A.K.A. MIND. The ensuing performance and dance party in New Theatre was a collective “aha” as spirited and expansive as the innovation.
To reflect on of the most energizing plenaries in the Forum’s twenty years, Jimmie Briggs, principal at the Skoll Foundation, sat down with Gabriel Diamond, our associate director of video production. Against the backdrop of hip hop’s 50th anniversary, they discussed the role of music and culture in advancing justice and equity and how philanthropies can take more strategic risks.
Gabriel Diamond: Thank you, Jimmie, for introducing Hip Hop Public Health to the Skoll Foundation portfolio. How did they come on your radar and what drew you to their work?
Jimmie Briggs: Hip Hop Public Health came on my radar soon after joining the Skoll Foundation in 2020. I was watching a morning news program, and the interviewer was talking with its founder, Dr. Olajide Williams. I was so struck by his work. Here was this Columbia University professor and world-renowned neurologist serving some of the most disenfranchised communities in New York City and using hip hop culture to engage young people and their families.
Hip Hop Public Health has successfully engaged and educated elementary school children about behavioral health and disease prevention, in themselves and their family members who may be at risk of disease, particularly in the Black and Latinx communities. He’s tapped into something that connects with people through a language and authenticity they recognize.
Gabriel: Hip Hop Public Health stands out among Skoll Foundation’s range of investments. Did you face any hurdles during the process of bringing them into our community of funded organizations?
Jimmie: Dr. Williams is a highly-regarded neurologist, NIH funded and CDC affiliated, with many years of research and medical practice. He’s published scores of articles about the positive impact of music on the neurological health of the body and the use of hip hop to foster behavioral health transformation.
Still, part of this process involved convincing people that this was a credible and legitimate thing. I think seeing hip hop in the name of any entity, for better or worse, may cause people to take it less seriously, particularly in the philanthropic or social entrepreneurship space. But in the years since our initial engagement with Hip Hop Public Health, we have seen their growing impact, visibility, and influence.
Gabriel: Dr. Williams joined musical artists onstage at the 2023 Skoll World Forum for our first-ever hip hop panel and performance. What was it was like for you to be there and feel that land so powerfully with the audience?
Jimmie: It was personally transforming to see this international trio of hip hop artists speaking authoritatively and credibly about the impact of the music on the culture in their respective countries. Then they gave this multilingual performance for scores of people in person at the Forum, with thousands more watching online. It was overwhelming. I was in a haze of disbelief.
I think the credibility of an endeavor like Hip Hop Public Health was elevated and affirmed that day. One of the things about hip hop that resonates so deeply is its universality. It may have been born in the South Bronx, and in Brooklyn and Queens, but it has become a global phenomenon and community that transcends borders and different languages. I hope more people will consider tapping into hip hop culture to reach each other across these artificial silos.
Gabriel: Why do you think people tend to take hip hop less seriously, particularly in the philanthropic community? And how can we dissolve those biases?
Jimmie: I think it’s a lot of misperceptions. I also think because it’s an arts-based community, people don’t easily make the connection between music or music-associated culture and social or behavioral transformation. Dr. Williams and Darryl “DMC” McDaniels [co-founder of Run-DMC and artist advisory council member, Hip Hop Public Health] speak eloquently and powerfully about why and how hip hop builds bridges between communities and its impact in fostering a positive self-image, behavioral health change, and attitudinal shifts around wellness and disease prevention.
Maybe there are generational reasons for not viewing it as a lever for social change and impact. Generations that haven’t been historically connected to the community writ large don’t understand it. But hip hop strives to be intergenerational, multinational, and multilingual—and it strives to remain relevant. The fact that it’s now being celebrated globally after 50 years reveals its relevance as an enduring cultural community.
Gabriel: What’s your hope for folks in our global network who come across Hip Hop Public Health? What could shift in perceptions and ways of thinking around hip hop as a social change tool?
Jimmie: Again, I hope it inspires people to rethink their assumptions about hip hop culture and the community. I hope people watch the full discussion and performance on the main stage of the Skoll World Forum and expand their thinking on social entrepreneurship. I also hope it causes people to reflect internally, within community, about how they can credibly and successfully reach young people.
An organization like Hip Hop Public Health probably wouldn’t have been seen as innovative or having systemic impact at an earlier time. But given its increased visibility since the Forum, particularly with this year being the 50th anniversary of hip hop, I hope people will remain open to creatively driven organizations and individuals using different elements of hip hop for social change.
Gabriel: What advice do you have for the philanthropic sector that is so often critiqued for not bringing diverse work into their portfolios?
Jimmie: This experience reinforced the importance of staying close to the communities we’re serving through our grant partnerships. In a post-covid philanthropic sector, we’re in this virtual work where it’s easy to be separate and distanced from colleagues or communities in need of support. When we’re drifting in our focus on strategy at Skoll, I’ll say, “We have to keep the streets in the room.” That means keeping one’s ear close to the ground, staying in tight proximity with your partners, and being open to pushing the boundaries of what’s considered social entrepreneurship.
People are marching in the streets for their lives, which inspired the creation of Skoll’s justice and equity team and a refocusing for many philanthropic institutions on justice and equity in America and beyond. I guess you could call it the legacy of George Floyd’s murder. If we’re focused on innovation and impact as a Foundation, we must be willing to take risks as we push for systemic change. Part of that change is putting organizations like Hip Hop Public Health on the main stage of Skoll World Forum and having a multilingual, multinational performance for hip hop. That’s a signal to other philanthropies.
Gabriel: How can we help folks in positions of power in philanthropy and government understand the messaging needs of the communities being served by Hip Hop Public Health?
Jimmie: It all boils down to the stories we tell, and how we share them. To quote Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon Martin’s mother, who later supported protests in Ferguson: “If they refuse to hear us, we will make them feel us.” That can be adapted for grant partnerships and other investments, whether it’s championing an organization publicly or encouraging them to do the same. Tell the story, pull up the data, frame the conversation so others are less removed from the issues. Help people feel a sense of urgency. Help them be moved by the story.
