Dr. Cornel West, the Princeton professor that
released the critically acclaimed Hip-Hop album Sketches Of My Culture,
is finishing up production on his follow-up, titled Street Knowledge.
The double CD will drop on the RocDiamond/DOA
Soul label and is comprised of 20 tracks that chronicle the black experience
in America from the days of slavery’s Middle Passage up to today’s Hip-Hop culture.
Executive produced by 4 Black Men Who Mean Business,
which includes West, Derek "D.O.A." Allen, Mike Daily and Clifton
West, the album features guest appearances by Killer Mike, Tavis Smiley, Dr.
Michael Eric Dyson, Chuckii Booker and others.
"This project is one which embraces the
tradition of music, particularly that music originating in the black community,"
Clifton West told AllHipHop.com. "It addresses a myriad of issues that
face us as a people, nation and world today. Hopefully it will serve as as a
tool of empowerment, through education and entertainment."
Street Knowledge continues the discussion
of the use of the N word and contains a forum narrated by Tavis Smiley, which
features Dr. Dyson arguing in favor of the word, while Dr. West opposes it.
The double CD addresses issues such as child
abduction, the use of the word b*tch, 9/11 and West’s falling out with Harvard
president Lawrence Summers over his last CD, Sketches Of My Culture.
West left his position of Professor Of African-American
studies at the university, after Summers suggested that West was engaging in
unscholarly pursuits after recording the rap CD.
Dr. West has authored over 20 texts, including
New York Times Best Seller, "Race Matters."
Street Knowledge is scheduled to hit stores
in June.
