Culture

An Unlikely Pairing of Sustainable Development and Hip Hop

Eight entrepreneurs and eight rappers try to sell the world on the UN’s environmental agenda through rap battles.
The night's winner was rapper Professor Lyrical (left), who brought entrepreneur Samir Ibrahim on stage to make their "pitch" about solar power.Gediyon Kifle

On Wednesday night, I attended my first hip-hop show. But with artists dropping lyrics like Solar power, you got the power and Throw trash out the window, hope it floats, the Earth can’t swallow so it chokes and chokes, this was no ordinary rap battle. The topic of the night: the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

True to its name, “Pitch & Flow” had a simple premise—something akin to Shark Tank, but in rap form. Eight social entrepreneurs focusing on issues like clean energy, waste, and education for the incarcerated were paired with underground rappers to translate their cause and the stories of their work into moving verses. There were three rounds total, with commentary from celebrities in the hip-hop world and an entrepreneurial expert, as well as a $7,500 prize at stake. The judges of the night were the audience—a mix that included both families and young and older professionals—who packed into the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.