US Military Man Turned Hip-Hop Artist Protests War Through Music

Bring ‘em Back is the new single from Ruben, a hip-hop artist who is also a former memeber of the US Coast Guard.

Bring ‘em Back is about bringing the troops home from the Iraq war. In a time when there is much controversy over the war, Ruben wants to spread awareness on the importance of bringing the troops home and his feelings about the war in Iraq. Ruben served in the United States Coast Guard and was honorably discharged.

A sample of his powerful lyrics…

“Bring the soldiers home, bring em back alive.”

“The first item up for bid, thou shall not kill, that's what God forbid, now you start to second guess, what you really did, dressed up for a war, but you're still a kid, fatigue up, league up, feeling really big, president used you for a guinea pig.”

“9/11 taught us a lesson, America the people, can I make a suggestion, be more careful, when you choose the next one, fighting for a man, hoping GOD has a plan, turn the planes around, lay your weapons down.”

“[The] United States armed forces put their lives on the line daily as they fight for our freedom,” says Ruben. “My song is simply a small sign of appreciation to all the men and women dedicated to fighting for our country.”

Ruben has been entertaining audiences large and small since the age of six when he showed an interest in playing the drums and the bass guitar and numerous other musical instruments. As his talent and mastering of these instruments grew so did his curiosity of the other aspects of the entertainment industry.

“My main focus and goal with my music is to address the important issues that affect us all -regardless of sex, race, creed or intelligence,” says Ruben. “I want people to hear my music and be able to relate to what’s going on in the world.”

Ruben is originally from Cleveland, Ohio, and began his music career at the age of six as he followed in the footsteps of his father, who was singing in a group called Love for Dollar and Cents. Ruben is also a certified fitness trainer and aspiring actor, now living in Los Angeles, California.

Bring Em' Back from keith collins on Vimeo.

A Hip-Hop Winning Weekend in DC

This weekend, for old-school hip hop lovers, Almaz Restaurant is getting the party started with old school hip hop on Friday Night dj'd by the female spinmaster DJ Earth 1ne. Serving authentic Ethiopian food and delicious drinks, gather your friends to come chill and reminisce as you enjoy the sounds.

On Saturday, during the day from 2pm-5pm, Hip Hop Cinema returns this month at the Historical Society Museum located on 7th & K in northwest DC. solSource is doing their thang this weekend as they present the hip hop cult hit The Freshest Kids which documents the lifestyle of hip hop dancers known as b-boys.

The 90-minute documentary is full of early history of the artform and features legendary dancers Crazy Legs and Ken Swift.

The Freshest Kids is the first documentary to explore the mostly unknown history of hip hop's first dance and its early pioneers.Known by many names—Breaking, Rocking, Burning, Going Off, B-Boying, Break Dancing—the style was born at DJ Kool Herc's South Bronx house parties in the early 70s, catapulted to worldwide fame in the 80s, and evolved through the 90s into its latest gravity-defying incarnation as a thriving underground movement.

After the film, you are invited to participate in an audience discussion with some of the best B-Boys, DJs and Emcees on the DC Hip Hop Scene. Kobie Nichols of Hot Topic TV/DCTV moderates.

Later that evening, don't forget to check out Saturday Night Live @ Almaz, featuring Farafina Kan starting and then Sunday, enjoy some stellar organic soul hip-hop by checking out the debut of the G-Spot.