New York City event raises awareness through live musical performances and discussion lead by social commentators like Pharoahe Monch, Felonious Munk
Rapper Jahan Nostra
New York, NY — Homelessness in New York City has a face and it is overwhelming black and brown. A strong percentage of those faces belong to teens and young adults. Today, rapper Jahan Nostra in partnership with The Siwe Project and producer Cali Green, announces the “Embrace the Rain Benefit: Youth Homelessness + Mental Health Awareness” show, an event created to raise awareness and funds to benefit impoverished youth and minority mental health awareness. Hosted by Nostra, the event includes live musical performances from SOL Development, Jessica Lá Rel and Nostra, himself, and takes place Sunday, June 24 at Gramercy Theatre. Proceeds benefit The Robin Hood Foundation.According to research from the Coalition for the Homeless, nearly 60 percent of New York City homeless shelter residents are African-American. The most recent census report shows that the total number of sheltered and unsheltered homeless people in the city was more than 75,300. This included over 1,700 people between ages 18 and 24.
“Being homeless is thought of as something that impacts older people,” says Nostra. “But in reality, there are 1.7 million youth experiencing homelessness in this country. There are 50,000 kids who sleep on the streets for six months or more each year. One in every five children between age 10-18 will run away from home.”
Recognized as the city with the largest homeless population, New York City is prime location for discussion. Featuring conversations on mental health in the black community with rapper Pharoahe Monch, comedian and social commentator Felonious Munk, Bassey Ikpi of The Siwe Project, journalists Danielle Young, and more, the “Embrace the Rain Benefit” seeks to spark conversation on the causes and conditions of youth homelessness.
“People don’t understand what mental illness is, and they characterize it as a moral defect or a character flaw,” Bassey Ikpi, activist and author, founder of The Siwe Project. “If people understood what it is, how it looks, and what it looks like when it’s being managed and treated properly, some of that would lessen. And that takes public figures and speaking publicly on behalf of those who can’t.”
The event title derives from Jahan Nostra’s song “Embrace the Rain,” which was filmed in Brooklyn, N.Y. Watch the award-winning music video here. Tickets for the “Embrace the Rain” benefit are available via Live Nation and Ticketmaster at: bit.ly/embrace0624.
About Jahan Nostra
Jahan Nostra is a hip-hop artist from Mount Vernon, N.Y. and Stamford, CT. His latest album, ESP – remastered by Daddy Kev – features the legendary Smif-N-Wessun and Tone Trump. Jahan makes positive music, pairing socially conscious poetry with the sounds of hip-hop, soul, R&B and jazz. With respect to his creative influences, Jahan credits Tupac Shakur as an inspiration for “his ability to paint pictures with great emotion and put poetry in motion while still being true to himself.” Taking his craft seriously, Jahan has an artist statement that he lives by: “To uplift for the future, reflect reality and prove that I’m the illest.” Jahan is not just an artist, he is also a social activist, entrepreneur, and an award-winning director/filmmaker. For more on Jahan Nostra, follow him @JahanNostra and visit www.jahannostra.com.
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