Hailing from New York City, Baba Israel is a multitalented emcee whose parents were core members of The Living Theatre. He's shared stages with musical heavyweights, including Outkast, The Roots, Ron Carter, and Arturo O'Farrill, and is a core member of the hip-hop/soul project Soul Inscribed. He has toured as an emcee, beatboxer, and theater artist across North and South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and Asia. Baba Israel has served as the host of Word. Sound. Power for more than ten years. 

DJ Reborn is a trailblazing international DJ, sound collage artist, and arts educator. Born in Chicago and based in New York, Reborn’s diverse career spans decades of electrifying audiences across continents. This sought-after phenom has opened shows for artists ranging from The Roots, Erykah Badu and John Legend, to Jack White. Her dynamic style has been embraced across mediums by artists like Kara Walker, Wangechi Mutu, Carrie Mae Weems, Julie Mehretu, and Sanford Biggers. She has rocked the decks on BET, the NAACP Image Awards, and on prestigious stages and at festivals including Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House, Glastonbury, Camp Flog Gnaw, Kennedy Center, and the Apollo. She is the resident DJ for the iconic Ms. Lauryn Hill’s world tour. Most recently, Reborn dazzled at the historic 2022 Academy Awards Governor’s Ball alongside the incomparable DJ D Nice.  

Reborn is an active arts educator and mentor, partnering with Urban Word NYC, Sadie Nash Leadership Project, Lower Eastside Girls Club, and more. She is also the founder of DJs for Justice, a coalition of DJs using their platforms in service of racial, social and economic justice. She is currently developing an international performance piece centered around archiving the stories of women in the DJ world. DJ Reborn’s uncanny ability to impact crowds from festivals to galas to weddings sets her apart in her field. Her love for music is palpable.  

For Okai, playing the conch shell is a heartfelt ode to his Haitian ancestors and the indigenous Arawak and Taino people of the Caribbean. Okai has immersed himself in a rich tapestry of rhythms from the African diaspora, mastering Bomba on the Barril drum from Puerto Rico, Rumba and Son from Cuba on Congas, Vodou rhythms from Haiti on the Rada and Petwo drums, Cumbia and Bullerengue from Colombia on the Alegre drum, and West African rhythms on the Djembe drum, among others. 

Mobéy Lola Irizarry (they/them) is a two-spirit cultural worker in the realms of salsa, bomba, poetry, and transdisciplinary performance. Based in Brooklyn, they hail from the Puerto Rican diaspora in Hartford, CT, and are a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation. They make within the lineages of decolonial uprisings, collections of tiny mirrors at queer clubs, and the precolonial languages of the drum and the braid. Lola is the creative director and conguere for Las Mariquitas, NYC’s Queer and Trans Salsa band. They play in the experimental performance trio Dendarry Bakery, the duo Tó Ara, and the Latin Rock group AVATAREDEN. They compose for Samora La Perdida’s Spanglish Sh!t musical and are an alumnus of EMERGENYC. Lola is quoted in Rolling Stone: “I want to abolish patriarchy in Salsa… this is a duty to our lineage.” 

Sincerity Garcia, a Brooklyn-based music artist and cultural ambassador, uses hip-hop and poetry to empower communities locally and globally. Since 2018, she has toured six countries as a US Embassy Hip-Hop Diplomat. Featured on BBC’s Queens of Rap and Netflix’s Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip Hop, she also developed and facilitated a hip-hop and poetry curriculum for people in custody on Rikers Island and is an advocate for families affected by the justice system. Passionate about words, music, and meaningful connections, Sincerity continues to inspire through her artistry and activism. 

Hailing from the vibrant streets of Brooklyn, Nejma Nefertiti is a versatile and influential figure within the world of hip-hop. As an Art Equals Politics social justice educator, Nefertiti isn’t afraid to use her craft to voice her passionate stances on political injustices, harnessing the power of hip-hop as a tool for societal change.