Chasing a PhD is no easy task.  Trust me, I would know.  Even so, I would argue that pursuing my music career at the same time is an even tougher endeavor and that is why I was honored to sit and talk with Leor Galil of the Chicago Reader about my journey as a Hip-Hop scholar in academia.  Please find the article below for your reading pleasure.

This past Sunday, I was humbled to be given the opportunity to conduct a Live Q&A with one of my early mentors, Reverend Donald B. Register.  Reverend Register, pastor of my home church (Sixth Grace Presbyterian Church in Chicago), was celebrating his 50th Anniversary as a minister. With his wife E. Dolores Register, he was feted with a gala reception at the church on December 8th, 2019. In addition to his ministry at Sixth Grace, Register served as a post-graduate urban intern and assistant pastor of Berea Presbyterian Church, a member of the North Side Team Ministry in St. Louis, Mo., and associate for Presbytery Mission for the Presbytery of Chicago. He has also served as a trustee and board member for a number of organizations and schools. He was formerly president of the Oak Park YMCA board and vice-president of the Racial Justice Now Foundation.  Below is a audio link of the interview, for those interested.  Salute to Reverend Register!

Please find my first ever peer-reviewed publication, "“Deeper than Rap”: Cultivating racial identity and critical voices through Hip-hop recording practices in the music classroom" here:

Apparently, I'm getting married.... Just kidding.  I am fully aware I'm getting married...

Last weekend, after getting back from the Connected Learning Summit in Irvine, CA, my fiancee and I held an intimate gathering of family and friends to celebrate our engagement at Norman's Bistro in Chicago.  Fun times were had.  See the photos below for proof...

-Jabari

Listen in now!

One thing I love about the end of summer is that it is time for my BIRTHDAY!!  Instead of doing a big event, I kept it simple: dinner with friends.  See photos below:

I'm back in Chicago from Boston and I'm finally ready to start on my dissertation. The picture you see above is from my final presentation from my internship at Microsoft. I had an amazing summer working in Cambridge on a project detailing the exploits of rappers in Chicago's drill scene. Hopefully, this will bring about at least two manuscripts that I can't wait to share with you. Mazel tov!