Hip-Hop DJs Turn Election Day Into A Nearly 5,000-Stop Gig
Originally published by AllHipHop Read the original
Hip-Hop DJs have a different kind of Election Day booking on November 3: polling places, a national effort built by a former BET “Rap City” worker.
DJs at the Polls will make its first appearance in the Tampa area at 26 polling locations in Tampa and elsewhere in Hillsborough County, WUSF reported. Founder Anton Moore developed the idea while working on “Rap City”, bringing his experience around rappers and DJs into voter engagement.
Moore founded the nonpartisan initiative in Philadelphia in 2009. Legendary Philly spinner DJ Diamond Kuts serves as DJ Recruitment Lead.
Its mission puts music to work around a civic task: encouraging people to participate by making Election Day feel like a community celebration.
The organization is a fiscally sponsored project of Focus for Democracy Fund, a nonprofit.
This year, about 2,000 DJs will perform at nearly 5,000 polling locations in 24 states, KCUR reported. Kansas is another first-time stop for the organization, with 18 voting sites in Kansas City, Kansas, and 28 locations in the Wichita area on the schedule.
Those gigs pay $500 per set. The assignments come with rules: DJs cannot play offensive music or use their sets to push a political affiliation. Moore said performers receive training on the guidelines, including the ban on profanity.
On the organization’s website, past participant DJ World Wide Waxx described what the work felt like from behind the equipment: “The people enjoy it and they thank you a lot for even being there.”
