Hip Hop Public Health Featured in New York Times

Hip Hop Public Health was founded in 2008 by Olajide Williams—the “Hip Hop MD.” Dr. Williams, an associate professor of neurology at Columbia, and Hip Hop Public Health promote health literacy through hip-hop, short animated features, and health video games.

A July 8 New York Times story focuses on Hip Hop Public Health’s new anti-obesity campaign, which is based on obesity research conducted at Columbia University Medical Center. Working with the campaign are such hip-hop artists as Doug E. Fresh, Chuck D, and DMC of Run-DMC.

The article quotes Dr. Williams:

It’s about having fun while learning,” said Dr. Olajide Williams, a Nigerian-born neurologist at the medical center and at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, who founded Hip Hop Public Health. “Their minds are unlocked by the entertainment and then we can input the knowledge and skills they need to learn.

Read the full New York Times story here. A CUMC Newsroom story includes a video on the Hip-Hop Stroke Program.