Bakari Kitwana

The former executive editor of The Source, the magazine of hip-hop music, culture and politics, Bakari Kitwana has edited hundreds of articles on hip-hop and youth culture. He has been acknowledged as an expert on youth culture, hip-hop politics, and activism by The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, Salon.com, USA Today, CNN, The O'Reilly Factor and numerous other leading publications and news outlets.

In addition to the column "Do the Knowledge," which he writes for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, his writings have appeared in The Source, Savoy, the Village Voice, the Progressive, BET.com and more. Kitwana has the ability to enlighten not only through writing, but also through his incredible presentation skills. He has lectured on hip-hop at Harvard University, Columbia University, Vassar College, Hamilton College, and the University of Rochester, as well as many other colleges and universities across the country.

Kitwana authored The Hip-Hop Generation: Young Blacks and the Crisis in African American Culture, The Rap on Gangsta Rap, and the recent Why White Kids Love Hip-Hop. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has hired Kitwana to be a hip-hop consultant, which he does in addition to teaching a course in the political science department at Kent State University called, "The Politics of The Hip-Hop Generation."