FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 03/03/2010
Contact: Lacy MacAuley, (202) 445-4692, lacy@massey-media.com

Revolutionary Rhymes with Hip Hop Lawyer Shahid Buttar, at G40: The Summit this Friday
Shahid Buttar organizes grassroots action by day and kicks rhymes by night

What: Hip Hop Lawyer Shahid Buttar mixes politics and music at G40, the Summit
When: Friday, March 5th, 8 PM – 9 PM
Where: 223 23rd St, Arlington, VA, near Crystal City metro

WASHINGTON DC – This Friday, hip hop lawyer Shahid Buttar will perform on the opening weekend of “G40: the Summit” in Crystal City, Virginia. The show features over 500 artists, including acclaimed graphic artists such as Caia Koopman and Jophen Stein, and DC’s own renowned Matt Sesow and Dana Ellyn.

By day, Stanford-trained lawyer Shahid Buttar roams the halls of Capitol Hill, city halls, think tanks and universities to advocate for civil liberties eroded by the War on Terror. This week he was interviewed about his political analysis and grassroots organizing by KPFK in Los Angeles, WBAI in New York, and several other stations around the country. At night, Buttar haunts the San Francisco and DC underground electronica scenes as an MC, hitting the mic with DJs spinning deep house to acid breaks, old-school hip-hop and everything in between.

The G40 Summit by ArtWhino is a dynamic and contemporary art exhibit featuring curated works from artists around the world, musical and visual performances, lectures, live painting, and much more. Buttar’s work will add a politicized element to the opening weekend of the month-long exhibit. With a set including several political songs, he will inspire his listeners to question authority, reaffirm their commitment to values including peace, sustainability, liberty, and transparency—and to take action to build a grassroots movement committed to restoring them.

“Commercial hip hop used to talk more about real issues and inspire people to change, but nowadays it’s mostly fluff,” said Jessie Phille, one of Buttar’s longtime fans. “Shahid’s work is empowering and makes you want to get on your feet, not only on the dance floor but on the streets, too.”

Buttar’s music and lyrics strike at the heart of Babylon, the political culture that surrounds and enables the institutional madness that he engages more rigorously through his legal and organizing work. His music challenges people to question dominant culture. For example, in “Bumpin’ in my SUV,” he weaves syllables effortlessly over a funk track to say

Our nation’s transportation ultimately bears an inextricable relation to our foreign policy, and military policies — and actually, while we’re at it, don’t ignore the way SUVs affect our atmosphere floor: more carbon dioxide heating the planet, greenhouses gases spewing so that we can have it in comfort….As SUV owners throw us back into the past: imperial conquest, the last laugh. We be using force to subjugate other people so we can have more food on our plate, singing ‘Bumpin’ in my SUV’…” [View the video to “Bumpin in my SUV”]

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For more information on Shahid Buttar: www.shahidbuttar.com

For more information on G40: The Summit http://www.artwhino.com/g40

photo by http://www.rosinaphotography.com/