Rapper Bun B Joins Occupy Houston: 'Don't Just Tweet About It. Be About It.'

First, hip hop mogul Russell Simmons joined the Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City to rally against corporate greed and corruption. Then rappers Kanye West (albeit with a neck draped in gold and diamonds, and Talib Kweli and Immortal Technique all showed up in support of the protests.

A slew of lesser-known rappers in NYC, including the A-Alikes and Rebel Diaz, have planned a concert in Zuccotti Park, the unofficial headquarters of the OWS movement on Sunday, with the proceeds going to the legal defense of detained protesters.

Even Chicago rapper Lupe Fiasco, who dipped his mic in the political well earlier this year when he called President Barack Obama a terrorist, joined Occupy Oakland last week before a show there.

And now Hip Hop legend Bun B, of UGK fame has joined Occupy Houston, one of several splinter protests popping up in city’s across the country including Washington, D.C., Boston and Detroit.

“This is something that I think everybody at some point and time should be concerned about as a resident of Houston and as a citizen of the world," Bun B told the Houston Chronicle this afternoon.

According to the Chronicle, Occupy Houston protesters have joined with Metro mechanics, bus drivers and rail drivers in a rally in downtown Houston. About 70 members of Transport Workers Union Local 260 converged on METRO headquarters this morning at 1900 Main, joined by about 30 Occupy Houston protesters.

The lack of diversity of Occupy Wall Street has sparked a splinter movement called Occupy the Hood, started by a substance abuse counselor in Queens and a hairstylist in Detroit.

While Occupy the Hood has, at least online, captured the attention of young people of color with a range of economic concerns, it is also facing some of the same criticism lobbed at the movement it's trying to diversify.

"It's definitely being recognized among organizers, some of your best and most seasoned organizers," Roderick Douglas Bush, a professor at St. John's University in Queens who studies social movements and inequality, told The Huffington Post.
Back in Houston, Bun B took to twitter to encourage his more than 300,000 twitter followers to get off of the computer and get to the streets.

"Don't just tweet about it. Be about it. Come on down," he tweeted. "If you're unemployed and not job hunting today, join us if you can," he said in another tweet. He urged his followers to fight back against "corporate irresponsibility and unfair political, social and economical influence."

 

Comments

[simmonsthomas21]

12:09 AM on 11/24/2011

Our life,our wife,what is light when ur surounded by night.our kids who only pretend,as if they are happy when life for them is just about to begin.wallstreet/movement is the begining not the end.....Im a poet with a heart that moves for the movement,reaching out to positive freinds.....my utube .lordmagnetic728.

[Knowledgeseeker]

06:09 PM on 10/16/2011

Wallstreet greed is bad for America.

[homedefense]

01:20 PM on 10/16/2011

WE ARE MAD AS HELLLLL AND NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE

[Dianne Jarreau]

11:17 AM on 10/16/2011

"...He urged his followers to fight back against "corporate irresponsibility and unfair political, social and economical influence." Bun B. is correct. Do you know what he means by,"corporate irresponsibility? Put it this way, while the Bush Menage has always had corporate connections(for instance,Poppy Bush could try and educate Dick Cheney to support a family back in the day when George Herbert Walker Bush,sr. had been a Halliburton employee), when Hurricane Katrina occurred on "W's." watch, the victims of the flooded out homes in NOLA were transported by bus to Houston,Texas where Houstonians did not particularly want them. But there are always some good and/or kind people who take you in during a pinch and because of their churches. Ghetto double-up does not always work out in terms of employment or housing. After three months of irresponsibility by Bush Menage (which had made it on Oil from Texas) located in Kennibunkport,Maine, Washington,D.C. and Crawford,Texas,hotel accomodations in Houston dried up according to Welfare plans for emergencies and former New Orlean's residents were left floundering one-quarter of a year after losing everything and escaping with their lives. Was Houston's employment authority able to process them? Did the ghetto absorb them?

[Cha Cha 123]

09:52 PM on 10/15/2011

We should get people moving on the issue, however, not sure we should start a different movement, if we all stay focued on the issues, which are the same for the hood, or the brooklyn bridge we can make a difference. Just look, from a small group in brooklyn to a national and international movement. We only have but so much time and people to go around, let's all move in the same direction, as one for all, the diversity question is already answered check who's marching.... let's stand together.

[mgpayne]

07:35 PM on 10/15/2011

Aren't some of these Rappers in the top 1%. Do they pay decent salaries or not?

[loveis22984]

06:10 PM on 10/31/2011

Is everyone in the GOP as useful as pencils without a point?

[PristineInPink]

06:11 PM on 10/31/2011

Yea... I thought the same thing. Many of the most famous rappers are worth hundreds of millions and therefore are heavily into the one percent. The one percent comprises pretty much every celebrity of all types you can imagines (music, movies, etc). If ANY of these people wanted the masses to be able to keep more of their own money they could sell their music, movies, clothing lines, etc at a more reasonable prices or just encourage people to buy clothes for the quality and not for the brand. Anyone who doesn't see how hilariously ironic that celebrities are "helping the movement" is just amazes me.

[loveis22984]

08:20 PM on 10/31/2011

Thanks for answering my earlier question, you all are missing the point.

[Aissatou Sunjata]

05:36 AM on 10/15/2011

Sadly, we African Americans continue to suffer from influence of history. We are divided within our own culture/heritage so intrinsically deep we can not even dream of coming together as was done during Civil Rights Era. It is once again our young & artists who are primarily leading the charge. Yet, unlike those before us, since facts of the Era are NOT taught, independant learning not encouraged or persued independantly the knowlege of the (CRE) participants, carried the torch for future generation gets loosed. The NOW generation recipients, believe if I sacrifice to make a statement by voice or presence in a cause I expect the pay off to be on its way. Those of us who have been here before are tired, so we passively participate, contemplate our mortality, do what we need to in order 2 survive, or prepare for Heaven by and by or send our children to prestigous schools like THEY do, getting our children away from common folk, instead preparing them for debutante balls, Ivy league colleges & discuss those radicals, ungrateful Negros over dinner.

[hitman1650]

07:01 PM on 10/14/2011

You've heard of divide and conquer, don't let racism and separatism stop your cause. Stick together.