Around this time of year we would normally be celebrating Snow Week at the University. Oddly enough, the one year we actually have snow, there is no Snow Week.

There’s no point complaining however, when it’s replaced with Hip Hop Week. Not only did the Minnesota Programs and Activities Council hook us up with a humungous Roots and Atmosphere show at the end of the week, but Chuck D, one of hip hop’s most important leaders and innovators, will be giving a lecture on “Rap, Race & Reality.”

As the front man of Public Enemy, Chuck D claimed rap music was the “black CNN.” He saw his music as a platform for social and political consciousness for views often ignored by the mainstream media. What makes Chuck D such a powerful leader is his ability to seek the roots of problems and his refusal to settle for quick and easy solutions. He has an immense power that gets his audiences’ brains working. And most importantly, he challenges them to question everything.