Hip Hop DJ Supports Kevin Powell For Congress

J. Period Presents Official Kevin Powell for Congress Mixtape
By: Mark Lelinwalla
June 16, 2006
Vibe Magazine

When veteran hip hop journalist Kevin Powell expressed his urge to run for congress, mixtape DJ J. Period felt compelled to help spread the news.

What resulted was the Official Kevin Powell for Congress Mixtape, Powell For The People Vol. 1: It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop. The mixtape features revolutionary and politically-charged MCs like Talib Kweli, M-1 from Dead Prez and Black Thought from The Roots.

“To my knowledge he’s (Powell) the first person from within the hip hop community to kind of put his money where his mouth is and go for a political office. Everyone talks about it, but he’s really doing it,” J. Period exclusively told Vibe.com. “Based on that, I started thinking about ways I could help him to spread the word. I came up with this idea of doing a mixtape with revolutionary hip hop mixed in with old Martin Luther King and Malcolm X speeches.

“For me it was exciting to use the medium of mixtapes to get the word out on things that are not entertainment or music related.”

In addition to the aforementioned artists featured on the mixtape, Period has also reached out to the likes of Immortal Technique, Pharoahe Monch and even Lauryn Hill to jump on the special project.

Period teamed up with Hill to present the well-received, The Best of Lauryn Hill mixtape last year.

J. Period’s exclusive mixtape, Powell For The People Vol. 1: It’s Bigger Than Hip Hop, is tentatively scheduled for a July 4th release.