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."