Kameelah Waheed

Kameelah will present The Castor Ave. Project, a presentation of the historical origin of hip hop, poetry and urban rock music told through workshops and live performances presented by community artists for young people in Camden at the Powell Elementary School. The goal of this project is to reach young people and share the roots of urban music with them to help raise awareness of the social issues music can address and bring forward. For example, the workshops will address homophobia in mainstream music and how that gets acted out in the community. As a lifelong resident of Camden, Kameelah uses her music to speak out against racism, poverty, and educational bureaucracy in the city. This project will enable her to work with young people to raise self-esteem and consciousness in Camden.