Stephen A. Smith encourages Athletes to March on Washington instead of Protesting in the Arena/Stadium

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Yirim Seck: “As artists we have a responsibility to raise awareness"

Yirim Seck is a hip hop artist in Seattle (Photo by Hannah Myrick)

As Yirim Seck walks along 23rd and Jackson in the Central District, he has little trouble pointing out where historical buildings once stood and where open spaces have been replaced by modern structures.

He has spent most of his life in this neighborhood. The music he creates as a hip hop artist speaks to the changes in his neighborhood and the changes in larger society. Seck is one of many Seattle hip hop artists who embody resistance in the form of music and art that pushes for local activism.

“As artists we have a responsibility to raise awareness or insert ourselves in conversations to incite change,” Seck said.

“We call it a culture. It returns art to the people,” Julie C said, another local hip hop artist. “Community is a core. Hip hop acts as a mechanism of activism.”

The music is specific to Seattle, but also speaks to larger issues.

Draze, a local artist also from the Central District, released a song last year called “Irony on 23rd,” on the controversial pot shop Uncle Ike’s on 23rd and Union and the gentrification in the greater Seattle area. It became an anthem for the rally that shut down 23rd and Union last year.

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Local hip-hop artist Archie Green raises awareness about mental health

Hip-hop artist Archie Green listens to music all day long. He doesn’t even like to walk between his car and apartment without listening to music.

“It’s therapeutic for me,” Green said.

Finding a song for his mood is better than grabbing a cigarette or drink. It also helps him deal with what’s going on in life.

“Basically, I score my life,” the 31-year-old Shaker Heights resident said.

Green knows listening to music isn’t always enough to get him through tough times, though. He openly shares in his own music – and in conversation – how he turned to therapy to help with depression.

“It’s not talked about in the black community,” Green said. “That’s the mentality a lot of us have.”

Green hopes his transparency can help break down the stigma surrounding mental illness.

After graduate school in New York University, he struggled to find a job. He left the city and returned to live in Northeast Ohio with his parents.

In 2013, he was cited for driving under the influence after a night out with friends and lost his license.

“I felt like I’d be a burden (asking for rides),” he said.

He also felt isolated.

After Thanksgiving dinner with family in 2014, he said he felt like he had to be alone. It was then he decided he had to seek help.

“After going to therapy I realized I had depression,” he said.

He wrote the song, “Layers,” about this experience.

“You know as an artist we are charged with being authentic and telling a true and real story,” he said. “That’s really the only way people connect with your music.”

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