New Haven Independent

Pretty soon the auditorium full of high-school students was on their feet with hands in the air, nodding their heads to as he preached nonviolence.

Hip-hop artist Edo. G, known offstage as Ed Anderson, performed at Yale on Wednesday along with another members of the Boston-based rap group, 4Peace. High school students from six southern Connecticut towns — including several New Haven high schools — filled Yale’s Woolsey Hall to hear Edo.G and his partner Twice Thou, a.k.a. Antonio Ennis. Through video, music, and questions and answers, the pair of rappers sent a message: stay away from guns and violence, or end up in jail.

Before giving the first-ever hip hop concert at Woolsey Hall, Edo.G and Twice Thou cleared up some misconceptions about police operations and criminal justice. They let a Hillhouse High student know, for instance, that putting a sawed-off shotgun in a locked trunk does not put it out of the reach of cops searching a car.

Wednesday’s concert (click on the play arrow at top for highlights) also provided an opportunity for three local teenage rappers to perform rhymes they created for the occasion. The three were finalists in the “Rap 4 Justice” contest, which challenged high school students to create songs that addressed a social justice theme.

The event was organized by Yale University and the U.S. Attorney’s office. In the words of one of the organizers, Yale music professor Tom Duffy, “we want crime and violence out of our cities and off of our streets.” He enlisted Edo.G and Twice Thou (pictured, right and left) — two rappers with tattoos, baggy jeans, and gold chains — to send that message in a form that it would be respected by teenagers.

School buses were lined up on College Street on Wednesday morning, dropping off students from New Haven, Bridgeport, Norwalk, Willimantic, and Waterbury. Peppering the audience of students and teachers were police officers from each town.

Professor T-Diddy

The concert began at 10 a.m. with an orchestral performance led by Duffy, who was later dubbed “T-Diddy” by Edo.G and Twice Thou. Wearing a tux with tails, Duffy led a Yale orchestra in a piece that he had written called “Who Am I?,” which featured a spoken word performance by T-Diddy himself.

The orchestral piece also served as introduction to Edo.G who took the mic to say a short message over a background of classical music. “You need to respect your parents, respect your teachers, and respect the police,” he said, drawing some chuckles and murmurs of disagreement from the audience.

“Yes,” Edo.G continued. “You need to respect yourselves and stop the violence, because we are here for peace.”

Duffy’s piece was followed by a “mini-movie” co-produced by 4Peace to educate teenagers about mandatory minimum sentencing. In the brief film — which captivated the audience (pictured) — 19-year-old Tyrell is arrested for gun possession. He thinks he’s going to do just a couple of years, but his case gets picked up by federal prosecutors and he ends up with a 15-year sentence, leaving his infant child and girlfriend behind.

In the Q and A following the movie, one teenager asked if the police could search a locked glove compartment. Another, a Hillhouse student in the balcony, asserted that if you had a “pump shotgun in the trunk” and you locked the trunk, then “they can’t pick you up.”

“If you think that, if you think that, you be getting locked up real quick,” Edo.G replied. “You’re friends are not lawyers, don’t listen to them.”

4Peace performed three songs with guest rapper Rizz Cooke, eliciting nods, claps, and whoops from the audience. They brought the audience to its feet for the last song, and had the hundreds of students waving two-fingered peace signs in the air.

Performances followed by teenage rappers Anthony Ramos of Bridgeport, Norman “Blizz” Tappin of High School in the Community, and Joshane “JB” Barton of Metropolitan Academy. All three won the chance to visit the set of the BET program 106 and Park.

After the concert, as teenagers gathered around the stage to ask the rappers questions, Paul Henderson (pictured), a security officer at Hillhouse High, passed his business card to Edo.G. Henderson said that he wants to try to get 4Peace to come back to New Haven for a concert at Hillhouse.

Henderson said that hip-hop is the way to deliver a message of nonviolence to teenagers so that they will listen to it. “It has an effect. That’s how you’re going to reach them,” he said.

Henderson mentioned the Hillhouse senior who had asserted that cops don’t have the right to search a locked trunk. “He believes that,” Henderson said. “He probably rolls with someone that do that. Now he knows.”

“They don’t know, and that’s why we’re here,” said Edo.G, relaxing on a stool at the side of the stage.

“It turned out well,” he said of the concert. “I’m ecstatic. I think the kids got it.”