OAKLAND — When Oakland rapper Yung Moses' father died 10 years ago, he turned his feelings of sadness and anger into poetry and music — instead of venting through violence.
Moses, 20, is taking those same feelings of angst and translating them into music again, but this time he's talking about a political revolution in a song called "Vote (Ready or Not)."
"I'm a kid from East Oakland; I was born and raised here. I'm going through the same thing other kids from here are going through," Moses said. "I got my danger music, my soul, my hyphy — but I also got my political music."
Moses is trying to mobilize young people like him to open their eyes, to get excited about the national election and local politics.
"On these streets where I'm from, when people experience violence they turn to violence," Moses said. "I made this song to get people aware of the campaigns that are going on right here, and to let them know that we can make a difference in the outside world.
"Our vote counts," he said.
Moses is part of a movement called the Culture of Voting Project and "Wake Yo Game Up," a collaboration of Bay Area hip-hop artists, politicians and athletes who are hosting a series of events aimed at encouraging voter participation and political activism among Oakland's youths leading up to the Oct. 20 voter registration deadline.
"Vote (Ready or Not)" is being used to promote an album, "Wake Yo Game Up," by Bay AdvertisementArea rappers who want to promote social change and empowerment through community awareness and the act of voting.
"Hip-hop is ready to push the envelope again," said Charles Johnson, founder of the Culture of Voting Project, which is vying to register 125,000 young voters next weekend at events tailored for them, with the first event Friday.
Johnson said the group assembled a collaberative of San Francisco's hottest acts to change the face of American politics. Based on the paramount importance of this goal, all artists have agreed to donate their time and creative talents to this project, he said.
The 11-track album includes artists such as Too Short, Mista F.A.B., Beeda Weeda, San Quinn, Kev Choice and Ise Lyfe. They say they're helping to carve a niche in the hip-hop community for political work.
Too Short's song for the album, "Change the World," is about the importance of having a voice.
"I'm concerned about the direction of the youth in my community," said Too Short, whose real name is Todd Shaw. "Anything I can do to motivate kids to do something positive, instead of turning to violence, I'll do."
Johnson, who spearheaded efforts to engage the urban and hip-hop community, said getting the artists to participate was easy.
"It's a call to action and we need to engage this generation," he says. "We need to build a bridge between entertainment and social responsibility."
Moses glances at the portrait of his father tattooed on his right arm. The words "stuntin' like my daddy," wrap the ink.
"I translate the feelings in my heart through my pen. I could feel like crying and knock out the most soulful song and you'll be crying just like me. And there is violence, so I write about that.
"Or I could be thinking about change coming in politics," he said as he lifted up his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow.
"We have to show people we're here and that we recognize what's going on around us."
According to Laura Stoker, an associate professor of political science at UC Berkeley who specializes in political behavior, it's extremely difficult to get young people to vote on Election Day.
Youths face giant hurdles when it comes to voter turnout, in part because they move around a lot, and you must re-register every time you move, Stoker said. But signs suggest they will be the strongest consequence in the overall Nov. 4 election.
And the Alameda Registrar of Voters is seeing a huge surge in voter registration among young people, and they expect it to continue, according to Guy Ashley, spokesman for the department.
There are 70,000 more registered voters than there were in January, bringing the total in Alameda County to 751,000 registered voters.
As for Moses, expect to see more of him. Jibril Mohammed, or J. Moe, chief executive officer of Pushing the Beat Productions in Oakland, signed Moses two years ago. "He's our future, our prince," Mohammed said.
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