“Might find your man dead in the ocean (he be aight though).
You know dead rappers get better promotion.
Why we don’t laugh at death, and cry at birth?” – Jadakiss and Styles P, “We Gonna Make It”

Last Thursday, October 5th, #BrooklynGirlCode™ had the opportunity to attend BRIC TV’s #Bheard Town Hall, “Dead Rappers Get Better Promotion?: The Health Crisis in Hip-Hop.” The special sold out event which was held at BRIC Arts Media studios in Brooklyn, N.Y. focused on the ongoing health crisis in the Hip-Hop and African-American communities. The conversation about health in Hip-Hop seems to get swept under the rug very often these days. In addition to the senseless killing of many young Hip-Hop artists, the overall physical and mental health of our young black men and women is something that is causing us to pass away at an earlier age. Yes, the diamonds, cars and lavish lifestyles that most of these rappers portray is something that we all dream about. However, without good health you can’t be here to live it up and enjoy all those luxuries!

The #Bheard Town Hall meeting was moderated by journalist Nicole Duncan-Smith and featured an all-star panel of hip-hop artists, lawyers, doctors and activists. Some of the panelists included famous rapper and entrepreneur Styles P; DJ Enuff founder of The Heavy Hitters crew; entertainment lawyer Bob Celestine; founder of Hip-Hop Public Health Dr. Olajuwon Williams MD, MS and Keith Nelson Jr. who is the Senior Editor at Men’s Health magazine. The panelists touched on several different topics including mental health, physical health and maintaining a good diet consistently.

New York State Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado who also happens to be a fan of Hip-Hop opened up the event with a powerful speech in regards to the importance of health in the African-American community:

Famous rapper and entrepreneur Styles P spoke about how eating better on a daily basis can change your life drastically:

Styles P who is also the owner of the “Juices For Life” franchise encouraged all the young attendees at the town hall to go to the supermarket and purchase nuts and fruits and vegetables instead of liquor and processed foods. He also spoke about balancing physical fitness with diet.

The conversation about health in the African-American, Hip-Hop and all communities is one that we need to have way more frequently. Health is wealth and knowledge is most definitely power! Thank you BRIC TV for the invite. A great time was had! If you couldn’t make it to this special event, don’t worry… we got you! Watch the full livestream of the event below! -xoxo <3