A friend of mine told me the best Ice Cube story I’ve ever heard.

O’Shea Jackson – better known by his rap name Ice Cube – is as iconic a figure as exists in rap today.

To many, hip-hop and chess seem like they’re from two different worlds.

Hip-hop appears more likely to embrace dominos or craps as its official sport; when you think of a chess player, Bobby Fischer comes to mind before Bobby Digital. Additionally, chess is often thought of as nerdy, uncool and decidedly not urban – a pastime of tweeded old men in city parks and geeky suburban kids.

Being one of a few women in a male-dominated rap music industry - in one of the most independent music capitols of the world - can be overwhelming. Not for singer-songwriter Netta Brielle.

They say, nothing in life is free.

Editor's Note: This week's Music Monday feature accompanies our weeklong series on green hip hop and Oakland's urban eco movement with music from two of the scene's leaders.  Fiyawata's Ambessa the Articulate brings a straight ahead hip hop track while

Back in the day – 1998, to be precise – Blackstar’s debut album, Talib Kweli and Mos Def Are BlackStar, established a new benchmark for “backpack rap.”

Early this month, an article was published in the Oakland Tribune about hip hop and the impact it has on African Americans. The article was written by Angela Woodall, but it was the author she chose to feature in her story who had some interesting things to say.

Hip Hop is an art form and culture that originated in New York in the late 1970’s. The biggest component was music but also it included: fashion, graffiti, break dancing and beat boxing. It served as a way to bring the community together, preventing inner city gang violence.

Even though the environmental movement’s been around for decades, it’s safe to say that Oakland’s community activism and emphasis on green collar jobs, urban farming and organic, healthy foods has established us as a leader in the the nationwide resurgence.

This Friday, the "Beats, Rhymes and Life" benefit will raise money for a film about a longstanding rap therapy project for Oakland youth.

Even though their philosophies might not seem congruent at first, the idea of an environmentally sustainable, "green" hip hop movement really isn't so out there.