But that's exactly what has happened, say participants in a panel discussion: Dr. The world wasn't exactly sure hip-hop could be a vehicle for public health as well as social justice messages. It took them weeks to get the beat and the lyrics of "Stroke Ain't No Joke" right, but once they had it locked in, "Doug went into the studio and I think he knocked it out in a few days," says Williams. This is what Williams and Fresh were trying to do in that Harlem studio. "And yet in my mind, we hadn't fully leveraged it for public health." "Music has always been able to diffuse not just through our personal lives but across the world," he says. Our problem is often scaling those answers." To Williams, music, and hip-hop in particular, could serve as a powerful tool. "Our problem is not coming up with the answers. Skoll Foundationīut Williams knew when it came to more traditional public health interventions, "they don't diffuse into society" as easily. He's sitting next to Darryl "DMC" McDaniels of Run-DMC during a panel on hip-hop and public health at the Skoll World Forum. Olajide Williams (right) was instrumental in creating the "Stroke Ain't No Joke" hip-hop song in collaboration with rapper Doug E. "There was a lot of skepticism about whether this type of work could lead to a fruitful, productive" career, he admits.ĭr. Williams wanted to demonstrate that hip-hop could be used for public health interventions.
#Fresh world how to
Their goal was to create a hit but with an unusual lyrical premise - to teach people how to detect stroke symptoms and respond appropriately. "We would be going over different beats, different sounds." "I would be with Doug for hours and hours into the wee hours of the morning," Williams recalls. Each evening, he'd finish up his work as a physician at Harlem Hospital Center and walk seven blocks to the studio of hip-hop artist and "The Original Human Beat Box" Doug E. Olajide Williams felt like he had two jobs. During this rap, McDaniels called out: "I'm not afraid of the dark anymore/because I am the light./I'll be there at the start of the war/Because I am the fight." / Skoll Foundation Mind perform at the Skoll World Forum 2023. They're hip-hop artists who weave public-health messages into their rhymes: From left: Sister Fa, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels and Ali A.K.A.
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