Malcolm London is one of those people you know for all the right reasons. At 20, the native Chicagoan has had as much of an impact on changing the norm of the streets of his city as any community leader or alderman. London has a voice and a message to match that he has taken across the country, even appearing on a TED talk speaking on the intricacies of the plight of young disenfranchised minorities in the communities he frequents. Today, he continues to spread that message of hope and healing for a city that is hurting for both by teaming up with renowned Irish graffiti artist Maser for this video for his spoken work piece, “Never Too Late”, shot by up and coming video crew Heart of the City.
The video is at once art installation and background imaging, as Maser paints the words “never too late to love” on white over a black background, silhouetting the poignant wordsmith-ing put on by London throughtout. Much of the resurgence of hip-hop, on a certain side of Chicago, grows out of spoken word poetry classes at after-school programs like YouMedia and Young Chicago Authors. London, a Save Money affiliate and occasional rhymesayer is easily one of the most poetic souls in the city, stating in his monologue below: “Every morning I read headlines: 18 shot in a weekend, 300 dead in a summer, 50 schools shut down, public funding cut, trying to turn poems into eulogies I find in the newspaper. Everyday I teach students who’s stories will footprint into new front page stories. . ” Take some time out of your day to get some knowledge and insight on what this thing others call “Chiraq” actually is.
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