“Aisha restored hope in the future when it comes with social justice and hip hop. It was inspiring to see the use of hip-hop as a way of creating social change. Her ability to convey her discovery about how history has used hip hop to discuss social issues gave me hope for the future that I can accomplish the same thing. She inspired me to being more creative in my own path in incorporating social justice.”
— Tracey Onyenacho, Cross-Cultural Center, University of California, Irvine
Aisha Fukushima is a Singer, Speaker, Educator, and ‘RAPtivist’ (rap activist). Fukushima founded RAPtivism (Rap Activism) a global hip hop project spanning nearly 20 countries and four continents, highlighting the ways culture can contribute to universal efforts for freedom and justice by challenging oppression with expression. She is a multilingual, multiracial African American Japanese woman whose work is influenced by her global upbringing with roots spanning from her birthplace of Seattle, Washington to her other hometown of Yokohama, Japan.
As a leader of the ‘RAPtivism’ project, Fukushima has done solidarity building work through hip-hop from the United States and to France, Morocco, Japan, Germany, England, South Africa, Senegal, India, Denmark and beyond. As a vocalist, Fukushima’s musical sound consists of an unparalleled style blending soulful melodies, poetic lyricism, looping and beatboxing.
Purchase CD’s, Poetry or book Aisha for a workshop here.
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BUTTERFLY POEM
In the land of the free
& the home of the brave…
How can this be the land of the free & the home of the brave when so many people live in fear?
I captivate, reincarnate with an imagination state of mind
Teacher, I am more than your underestimations combined
Do you mind?
I am growing here.
Cocooned in a cacophony of sounds like ancestors footsteps
That pace with my heart
I am thump, thump, thumping on the doors of your existence
I am more than your labels make me out to be
I am human first & foremost
I said, I am human first & foremost
Except for when I’m a butterfly
Whose metamorphosis reopens the orifices of our connectivity
We are more connected than we pretend to be
Let these wings make me free
As I fly on the winds of change
A new season has come, rearranged
The old one is done, interchange
But living as a butterfly has taught me one thang
That there is no beginning or ending
Only shapeshifting
So let’s call this a transformation
A reformation, my wing pattern is a blueprint for elevation
& there ain’t no stopping this reclamation
constructed in a language of sounds & silences that must be read between the lines
until we realize that this whole reality is constructed
that the education that values one human life over another is corrupted
migration is a way of life
I said, migration is a way of life
I float by pushing myself up on matter that I cannot see
like dreams, shapeshift in a medium of creativity
sometimes it’s hard to be a butterfly
when you were build to soar
but some try to colonize the sky
how can you divide the air?
It must be hard to breathe if you don’t want to share.
This is the life of the butterfly
karma & samsara
birth & rebirth
I am woman & I know my worth
Monarch but not imperial
I spit philosophies, but it ain’t etherial
I keep rising, shining, wondering can you hear me tho? (x2)
so as we float
as we fly
as we flutter
warmth of prayers that melt like butter
-flies over aching wounds
erected in remembrance
stand high like pyramid tombs
this is for you
for I believe in YOUth
hold your head high
as you speak your truths!
The Equity Collective 