As the son of two educators and an advocate for positivity in his music, Talib Kweli is using his voice to help create social change. He is all set to perform two back-to-back Dare 2 Dream charity events at the House of Blues in Chicago to help promote reading and literacy among Chicago's youth. Non-profit organization, Working in the Schools (WITS) will use benefits from the event to provide students with one-on-one tutoring and mentoring programs.

As one of the worst public school systems in the United States, Chicago Public School System (CPS) graduates only fifty percent of its high school freshmen. Of those who do graduate, only six percent finish college, and as little as two percent of minority students graduate from college. These statistics are not surprising in a system where eighty-five percent of students live under the poverty line. The Dare 2 Dream events will go towards positively impacting the lives of all 400,000 CPS students.

Jeff Sodikoff, President of host Platform One Entertainment said, “I'm extremely proud and honored to partner with the incredible Talib Kweli to help foster major awareness and raise important funding for Working In The Schools all while continuing our pursuit to harness the power of music and entertainment to benefit important causes.”

The event is scheduled for May 2, 2009 in Chicago.

True Hip-Hop Stories: Sadat X of Brand Nubian from D-Nice on Vimeo.

From http://www.defsounds.com

Legendary Hip Hop group Cypress Hills is gearing up for the debut of their first album in five years.

The group members, who have been mostly working on their own projects since 2004's "Til Death Do Us Part," will be releasing the as yet to be titled album through Suburban Noize records.

"We're mixing right now," B-Real tells Billboard Magazine.

" It's aggressive. It's like hip-hop straight-up. We just felt like we needed to go back to that raw, gritty hip-hop sound but try to find a way to bridge it with what's going on now."

Everlast, Evidence and The Alchemist will be helping out the group this time around, however, fans of the group shouldn't expect any more guest appearances.

"We don't really do a lot of collaborations in Cypress. We keep it in house."

From Evidence’s “The Layover EP.” Track features Phonte, Blu and Will.I.Am.

New video for Blaq Poet’s Aint Nuthin Changed single from his upcoming release “The Blaqprint.” Features DJ Premier.

New video by SoundBwoi Records for the 1st single off the "Out With The Bad, In With The Great" album.

Grandmaster Flash is releasing a new album "The Bridge: A Concept of Culture" in March.

“As a DJ, I’ve been blessed to see many different people, places and styles,” Flash explains. “The album title represents all the bridges I’ve crossed worldwide.”

The album features guest vocalists and MCs Busta Rhymes, Snoop Dogg, Q-Tip, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane.

Official Tracklisting:
1. “Welcome”
2. “Shine All Day” (Feat. Q-Tip, Jumz, & Kel Spencer)
3. “We Speak Hip Hop” (Feat. KRS-One, Afasi, Kase-O, Maccho, Abass)
4. “Here Comes My DJ” (Feat. DJ Kool & DJ Demo)
5. “Bounce Back” (Feat. Busta Rhymes)
6. “Swagger” (Feat. Red Café, Snoop Dogg & Lynn Carter)
7. “What If” (Feat. KRS-One)
8. “Unanswered (Interlude)”
9. “Tribute To The Breakdancer” (Feat. MC Supernatural)
10. “Grown & Sexy” (Feat. Mr. Cheeks)
11. “When I Get There” (feat. Big Daddy Kane & Hedonis Da Amazon)
12. Connection (Interlude)
13. “I Got Sumthin’ To Say” (Feat. Lordikim, J-Flo & Almighty Thor)
14. “Can I Take You Higher” (Feat. Mr. Cheeks, Granmaster Caz & Tito)
15. “Unpredictable” (Feat. Syndee & Big Daddy Kane)
16. “Those Chix” (Feat. Byata, Princess Superstar & Hedonis Da Amazon)
17. “Bronx Bombers” (Feat. Lordikim, Almighty Thor & Mann Child)
18. “Zuka The Sound” (Interlude)
19. “Oh Man” (Feat. Syndee & Natacha Atlas)

Check out the video for his new single "Swagger" featuring Snoop Dogg, Red Cafe' and Lynn Carter