MC Lyte to Host Pitch & Flow Event at John F. Kennedy Family Theater in Washington, D.C.

On Wednesday (Sept. 13), at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Family, eight rappers will be paired with eight founders of social ventures tackling issues such as poverty, inequality and climate change for a special event called Pitch & Flow.

The rappers, with the help of their partners, will present their social venture to the audience and the United Nations' Global Goals in three competition rounds. A winning venture and rapper will emerge at the end of the event and win a grand prize.

Special celebrity guests include hosts MC Lyte and DJ D-Nice, hip-hop icon Stretch Armstrong, respected social entrepreneur and investor Melissa Bradley and performances by Roc Nation artist Young Paris and Doug E. Fresh.

Produced by Africa Creative Agency and supported promotionally by 202Creates, the audience will vote along the way for their favorites and special guest commentators will share feedback as MCs advance to the finalist round. Pitch & Flow is an event created to tap today's hip-hop socially conscious artists to reach millions with innovative ideas to address global challenges.

"Hip-hop brings culture and communities together far and wide," states Colin Gayle, Founder Africa Creative Agency. "It has always been a beacon of light to tell remarkable stories. Pairing MCs and entrepreneurs together to impact our common global goals is simply brilliant."  

Pitch & Flow brings together social entrepreneurship and hip-hop. MC Lyte adds, "Pitch & Flow brings together social entrepreneurs and socially conscious emcees to compete for a grand prize through the art of compelling storytelling and music. I am excited about hosting this groundbreaking venture tonight at the Kennedy Center and I am grateful to be a part of this amazing production as we present some amazing artists to the marketplace."  

The eight rappers involved in the venture are Asheru, Dumi “Right,” Lyrical, Mikal, Natalia, Self Suffice, Toni Blackman and Wes Felton. You can view the social ventures below.

SOCIAL VENTURES/ENTREPRENEURS
1. Greenlight Planet / Anish Thakkar: Developing and manufacturing solar products for people living off the electric grid, impacting over 20 million people in over 50 countries.

2. EcoPost / Lorna Rutto: Transforming plastic waste into a durable, eco-friendly, and 100 percent recycled lumber substitute with a longer lifespan than wood.

3. Edovo / Augie Torres: Decreasing recidivism by providing the 2.25M incarcerated adults in the U.S. daily access to educational and vocational programming via tablet technology.

4. Made In Space / Mike Snyder: Developing and Manufacturing solutions to commercial,
industrial, research and defense challenges through leveraging the unique properties of the space environment.

5. Liberty & Justice / Chid Liberty: Africa’s first and leading Fair Trade CertifiedTM apparel
manufacturing company, where 25 percent of the company’s directors are women.

6. One Earth Designs / Catlin Powers: Providing 100 percent solar-powered clean cook stoves for off-grid communities that get just as hot as a gas grill and heat up 5 times faster than charcoal.

7. Simpliphi Power / Catherine Von Burg: Designing and manufacturing safe, durable, efficient and scalable batteries for clean energy storage and management.

8. SunCulture / Samir Ibrahim: Creating solar-powered irrigation systems that make it cheaper and easier for farmers in East Africa to grow fresh produce and increase their profits.

See New Music Releases for September 2017