An excerpt from CAL Matters -
From lyrics to legislation: Common comes rapping on California’s Capitol
By Laurel Rosenhall
Inmates at the state prison in Lancaster got an unusual perk this spring: a private meeting with Gov. Jerry Brown’s top aide and a Grammy-award winning rapper.
It was one stop in a larger effort that has recently brought Common—a musician who blends hip-hop beats with an activist message—close to key California decision-makers. After an artistic career that propelled him from the south side of Chicago to poetry nights in the Obama White House, the 45-year-old rapper is now working to influence state policy. A resident of Los Angeles, Common is trying to change the criminal justice system in California.
In addition to the meeting with Brown aide Nancy McFadden at the Southern California prison in March, Common met with Democratic lawmakers at the Capitol in May to talk about bills that would change California’s bail system and juvenile justice procedures. He’ll be back in Sacramento on Monday, when legislators return from summer recess, holding a free concert outside the Capitol and lobbying politicians inside.
https://calmatters.org/articles/lyrics-legislation-common-comes-rapping-californias-capitol/#nws=mcnewsletter
No comments:
Post a Comment