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This introduces a new opinion column to the Hiphop Archive Newsletter from the director, Marcyliena Morgan. The purpose is to critique events and issues directly related to Hiphop and youth. We will invite occasional guest columnists to weigh in as well. Our hope is that these columns increase discussion and spur action about issues and ideas that affect our lives and communities.

The story of Afrika Bambaataa's founding of the UZN, explains Hiphop's genesis in past social movements as well as its influence on new social movements.

In the recently published Democracy Remixed: Black Youth and the Future of American Politics (2010), University of Chicago scholar Cathy Cohen proclaims the 44th President of the United States the "Lecturer-in-chief to Hiphop America."

I listen to a lot of music. A lot of different music. I am however confident in saying that across all the genres of music that I delve into and the roughly thousand artists you can find scrolling through my iPod, Lupe Fiasco's music always ends up getting pumped through my headphones more often than the other artists. He is the only artist I follow who I could truly, willingly listen to for days at a time.

The first time I heard Jay spit those lines on "99 Problems," I loved it. The swagger in Hov's delivery hit me as hard through my headphones as Rick Rubin's blistering beat, my face twisted up, and my head nodded in approval.