Keith Tucker's Vision: Hip Hop is Green's Impact on Culture and Environment

Last month, the organization Hip Hop is Green took over Cherry Street for a festival showcasing local artists and their unapologetic mission in teaching environmentalism through the culture. Keith Tucker, executive director and founder of Hip Hop is Green, proudly declared his operation as the greatest plant-based hip-hop organization in the world.

In the mid-2000s, Tucker’s journey stemmed from a pivotal encounter with rapper KRS-One, who introduced him to the Hip Hop Declaration of Peace. This document of nine elements that guide the dynamic genre’s culture towards health, wellness, peace, love, and unity became Tucker's foundation. He became a student of the Declaration, dissecting the elements of hip hop on his radio show. 

In 2007, Tucker's innovative spirit led him to explore the community of vegan hip-hop artists, a groundbreaking concept at the time. His own research and outreach unveiled  a thriving community of vegan hip hop artists, a discovery that blossomed into events, bringing together the artists, nutritionists, and community members to talk to the youth and feed them their first vegan meal. These "hip-hop green dinners,” as Tucker called them, grew exponentially from 150 kids to 1,200, showcasing an explosive interest in the movement.

Tucker summed up his mission if one powerful sentence: "If hip hop moves in a green direction, the world will move in a green direction." He took it a step further, declaring that the genre is already green right now. “Hip hop is about environmentalism. Hip hop is about health and wellness. Hip-hop is about animal rights. Hip hop is about sobriety and mental health. And hip-hop is about loving yourself,” he declared. 

A monumental idea struck Tucker in 2016 while revisiting the Hip Hop Declaration of Peace. Recognizing the document's allowance for future additions, he proposed health and wellness as  the 10th element of hiphop. This vision was met with enthusiasm from musicaal legends and pioneers, culminating in the signing of the 10th element of hip hop proclamation on April 21, 2016, at the Schomburg Library of Black Culture in Harlem.

The impact of Hip Hop is Green expanded significantly after the pandemic. "Before [Covid] we were just doing hip hop green dinners. After [Covid] we got a youth excellence program with a 10-week climate change curriculum," Tucker said. Cumulatively, the organization has graduated over 350 kids, established Cherry Street Farm where they teach kids how to grow food, and planted 3,100 trees in the community as part of their 10,000 tree program. 

Sa-Roc, a rapper who performed at the Cherry Street Festival, emphasized the community aspect of Hip Hop is Green and their Cherry Street Farms project. Inspired by Tucker’s work, she sees her craft as a powerful platform to "amplify the voices of the unheard" and "shine light on the good work that hip hop has done and can do." Her own lyrics reflect the core values of the movement at hand. Sa-Roc’s message to youth is clear: "Your voice is your power. Don't ever let anyone mute you or silence you."

Visit hiphopisgreen.com to learn more about the organization’s powerful vision for culture and the environment. 

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