'Hip-Hop Health Summit' set for DCU Center
WORCESTER — What is being dubbed as the inaugural “Hip-Hop Health Summit” is slated to be held from 2 to 6 p.m. Saturday at the DCU Center.
The event will feature two panel discussions: “How Does Hip-Hop Affect the Use of Opioids?” and “How Does Hip-Hop Affect Family Relationships?” The event will be hosted by Ayana Bean, a musician and the author of the self-help book "A Year And A Day: Memoirs of a Regular Girl." Bean was also the subject of an episode of the BET show, "American Gangster: Trap Queens."
According to the Brockton Enterprise, Bean was convicted in 2013 “of stealing thousands of dollars of financial aid funds through her job as a financial aid adviser," according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Massachusetts and was sentenced to a year and one day in federal prison. In the time since, Bean has reinvented herself as an artist and prison reform advocate.
"When you read about my past conviction,” Bean told the Enterprise, “it's in human nature to judge and formulate your own opinion without knowing me … I take full responsibility for my crimes and the students I have affected. I have served my time and now I'm opening a new chapter of healing and redemption." Other participants in the event include Worcester musician Keith Chester, also known as K. Fingers, Worcester rapper Slam Jackson and Brandon Matthew from the hip-hop website, KillerBoomBox.Com. The event will also feature performances by The Hoodies and Worcester hip-hop artists Jafet Muzic and K’Nen.
The summit is sponsored by Music Mania TV and is supported by the Mass Cultural Council, the Worcester Arts Council and the Worcester Cultural Coalition, among others.
Tickets are $15 and $10 with a student ID, and are available online on Eventbrite.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: 'Hip-Hop Health Summit' set for DCU Center
