Credit: Courtesy Benjamin Davis/Luminaries
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If you think hip hop is only about bling and babes, think again.
There's a "conscious hip-hop collective" out there called The Luminaries. And they aim to illuminate the musical masses to environmental issues with songs like "Peace," which is available on iTunes and from an upcoming, self-titled CD.
The band's eight members are all environmentally active and some of them live in an "intentional community" or eco-village in Topanga, California.
They're particularly concerned with the massive garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean.
They even have sponsors that make stainless steel bottles and vegan, fair-trade sneakers.
What they sound like
Call it a message backed by soulful and danceable grooves:
"P is for the People / E is for the Essence / A is for the Answers that we get from God's questions / C is for the Conscious / E is for the Earth / So everybody gotta stand up and find their worth!"
So goes the chorus from the first single.
The band has been making the rounds in Los Angeles with a biodiesel tour bus, leaning toward as many eco-themed festivals as possible, says their manager and bassist, Benjamin Davis.
Those include Earth Day LA with Michael Franti, the Peace Jam with Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu and most recently, Live H20 with Masuro Emoto.
They plan to cap off the summer with a main stage performance at Earthdance, on Sept. 25 at the Black Oak Ranch in Laytonville, California.
How they live
Topanga is about a 45-minute drive from Los Angeles. The Luminaries have a communal living home base in the mountains there, featuring a shared garden, 60 fruit trees, a septic tank watering system, along with gorgeous views and hiking trails, Davis says.
"We compost here direct to garden, and there is a well that provides all the water for the house," he said. "The band hopes to eventually buy the house and do a full solar panel conversion."
Why conscious hip hop?
"The band really didn't decide to go with the message, the message decided to go with the Luminaries," according to Davis.
"Hip-Hop has always expressed the cutting edge of culture, and now the cutting edge is the rise to a higher consciousness, and awareness."
Luminaries is a primarily vegetarian group, advocating organic living foods, and they're regulars at the local farmers market scene.
"We are practitioners of yoga, qi gong, and have group meditations before band rehearsals so we can tap into our creative spirits," Davis says. "During shows we set up our eco-friendly packaged CDs, organic hemp/cotton t-shirts, our own line of re-usable drinking bottles and our vegan fair-trade tennis shoes."
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| Courtesy Benjamin Davis/Luminaries |
What about the bus?
"We all are hyper aware of our choices with relation to the environment, and show this by driving our amazing Biodiesel Tour Bus, painted by the world renowned artist Chase. The bus brings much welcome attention to the band's message as it travels from the Southland to NorCal."
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| Courtesy Benjamin Davis/Luminaries |
Tips for aspiring environmental luminaries
"Go online with your promotion," Davis adds. "The internet saves thousands of trees, through making the flyers less important for promotion.
"Twitter, Facebook and other social networks are the best possible tools for bringing your audience together.
"No more plastic shrink wrap on your disc. Make your covers out of recycled materials, and reduce their size. You can have all the information, and art added to a file on the CD, which can be downloaded. Play locally. Encourage your fans to car pool."
The Luminaries also have a three-song EP called "Love Music," available on MySpace. The video for "Peace" won a best editing award at The 2008 Elevate Film Festival in Los Angeles.
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