Chuck D.
Photo: MTV News

You're probably already familiar with the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series, the self-help/inspiration books that "open the heart and rekindle the spirit." But what you may not know is that a new installment for the series is in the works: the warm and fuzzy "Chicken Soup for the Hip-Hop Soul."

Stories will be culled from writers' submissions and interviews with well-known hip-hop figures. The interviews will be conducted by Bay Area hip-hop insiders and co-authors Adisa Banjoko, rapper and producer Kool Kyle and mixtape DJ Vlad. On board so far are Chuck D, Harry Allen, Mystic, DJ QBert, Rob Swift from the X-ecutioners, poet/playwright Will Power, Afu-Ra, MTV's own Sway and Mohammed Bilal from "The Real World" San Francisco.

But the book won't only profile stars. The authors want to document many people's experiences with and relationship to hip-hop music and culture.

"This book will serve as an outlet for DJs, rappers, graffiti-writers and dancers to share their experiences in hop-hop," Kool Kyle said. "In its short time, this art form has given people a ton of opportunities and positive rewards. Some economic, others spiritual."

"Chicken Soup for the Hip-Hop Soul" will consist of 101 stories designed to give readers that wisdom and comfort they have come to expect from such other titles as "Chicken Soup for the Veteran's Soul," "Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul" and "Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul."

"Chicken Soup for the Hip-Hop Soul" is currently looking for submissions from writers from around the world. Visit www.myhiphopstory.com for more details.

• Public Enemy
• The X-Ecutioners
• Mystic

India.Arie
Photo: MTV News

India.Arie and Mystic have been tapped to headline the Sisters for Hip-Hop & Soul Tour, set to kick off November 8 in Philadelphia.

The outing, presented by MTV2 and Vibe magazine, will also feature DJ Jazzy Joyce and other guests to be announced.

Eleven dates have been announced so far and more are expected, according to a spokesperson for the tour.

India.Arie, fresh from touring with Sade, is promoting her debut album, March's Acoustic Soul (see "India.Arie Debuts With Dreamy Acoustic Soul"). She was nominated for the MTV2 Award at the 2001 VMAs and appears on the new John Mellencamp single, "Peaceful World" (see "Mellencamp R.O.C.K.ing With India.Arie, Chuck D").

Mystic is also supporting her debut release, Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom, released in June (see Mystic Uses Age To Her Advantage On Album").

A portion of the proceeds from the outing will be donated to the United Way's September 11th Fund, which benefits victims and families affected by last month's terrorist attacks. MTV2 will match the money raised by the tour.

Sisters for Hip-Hop & Soul Tour dates, according to a tour spokesperson:

• 11/8 - Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory
• 11/9 - New York, NY @ Roseland
• 11/10 - Washington, DC @ Nation
• 11/12 - Boston, MA @ Avalon
• 11/15 - Chicago, IL @ House of Blues
• 11/17 - Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart's
• 11/18 - Detroit, MI @ State Theatre
• 11/19 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
• 11/21 - Indianapolis, IN @ Egyptian Room
• 11/24 - Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
• 11/28 - Los Angeles, CA @ Wiltern Theatre

• India.Arie
• Mystic

Slum Village
Photo: Barak

When it comes to touring, musicians are increasingly putting family first — family themes, that is.

Following in the footsteps of Korn's infamous Family Values Tour, Detroit hip-hop crew Slum Village will headline the 24-city Family Tree Tour beginning June 28 in Chicago.

Other underground rap acts on the bill include former A Tribe Called Quest members Phife Dawg and Jarobi, DJ Rasta Root, Dwele, Phat Kat and Mystic.

Slum Village, who were on last year's Okay Player Tour, will be performing material from their upcoming album, Trinity, which is due in the fall, according to their publicist.

T3, Baatin' and Jay Dee released their debut album, Fantastic, Vol. 2, last year and went on to sell more than 100,000 copies with little radio support. D'Angelo, Q-Tip and DJ Jazzy Jeff are among the album's guests.

Slum Village will perform with an eight-piece band on the Family Tree Tour, which is subtitled "Bringing Hip-Hop Back to Its Roots." Family Tree Tour dates, according to Slum Village's publicist:

• 6/28 - Chicago, IL @ Cubby Bear Lounge
• 6/29 - Ashville, NC @ Ashville Music Zone
• 6/30 - Charlotte, NC @ Tremont Music Hall
• 7/1 - Birmingham, AL @ Five Points Music Hall
• 7/4 - Charleston, SC @ Warehouse
• 7/6 - Atlanta, GA @ Earthlink Live
• 7/7 - Jacksonville, FL @ Club 5
• 7/9 - Lake Buena Vista, FL @ House of Blues
• 7/11 - Houston, TX @ Hyperia
• 7/13 - Austin, TX @ La Zona Rosa
• 7/14 - Dallas, TX @ Canyon Club
• 7/18 - Vail, CO @ 8150 Club
• 7/19 - Boulder, CO @ Fox Theatre
• 7/20 - Albuquerque, NM @ Sunshine Theatre
• 7/21 - Tucson, AZ @ The Rock
• 7/22 - Las Vegas, NV @ Huntridge Theatre
• 7/24 - Phoenix, AZ @ Celebrity Theatre
• 7/25 - San Diego, CA @ 4th & B
• 7/27 - Anaheim, CA @ House of Blues
• 7/28 - West Hollywood, CA @ House of Blues
• 7/30 - Santa Cruz, CA @ Palookaville
• 7/31 - San Francisco, CA @ Maritime Hall
• 8/1 - Eureka, CA @ Club West
• 8/3 - Park City, UT @ Harry O's

• Slum Village
• Phife Dawg
• Mystic

Mystic
Photo: JCOR Records

Most people fret at the reality of getting older, but rapper/singer/spoken-word artist Mystic hopes to use her age and experience to her advantage on her debut album, Cuts for Luck and Scars for Freedom, which is scheduled to arrive in stores June 19.

On the 18-cut album, the Southern California artist examines the long-stemming effects of oppression on "Ghetto Birds," and explores the less-than-ideal relationship she had with her father — who died of a heroin overdose in 1999 — on "Fatherless Child." "A lot of us in hip-hop who are speaking positively and are offering a different angle, we're a little bit older," said 27-year-old Mystic, who appeared on Digital Underground's Who Got the Gravy album as the DU Goddess and recorded a cover of Billie Holiday's "Gloomy Sunday" for "The Funeral" soundtrack. "I think our views on the world are really developed and concrete, and we feel the need to speak on that. To help change things, I've got to offer a different viewpoint." On "The Life," her single that is generating buzz in New York, the San Francisco Bay area and Atlanta, Mystic sings about the inherent good in people. The song sounds drastically different from the underground cut "Current Events," which featured her rapping and helped build a name for Mystic in the underground hip-hop scene.

Like Lauryn Hill, who is able to appeal to fans with both her singing and her rapping, Mystic said that people won't be surprised to hear her do either once they're exposed to her music.

"I don't think it will throw people off," she said. "The album is really mixed in terms of rhyming and singing. There are going to be people who like one [style] more than the other. I think that they'll be more thrown off that it's a really different album [than because I'm singing and rapping]." Mystic will be on the road this summer as part of the two-month Tree of Life tour with such like-minded artists as Slum Village, Bahamadia and Phife. "I'm happy to be going on a tour that's positive and peaceful, with artists that talk about more things than money, hos, clothes and automobiles," she said. Before that tour, Mystic will be performing at the Hip Hop for Consciousness Benefit Concert for Jamil Al-Amin (formerly H. Rap Brown) on May 12 at the Watts Labor Community Action Center (WLCAC) in Los Angeles, California.

The concert's aim is to generate revenue for the Justice Fund, which helps finance Al-Amin's legal team and provides support to his family. The former Black Panther member was arrested in March 2000 for allegedly shooting and killing a police officer outside of his store in Atlanta. The case has not gone to trial. Other acts scheduled to perform at the benefit include Mos Def, Jurassic 5, Dilated Peoples, Planet Asia and Zion I.

"I'm not doing the event to prove his guilt or his innocence, but to support him getting a fair trial and to make sure that he's safe," Mystic said. "We all know that the United States government has a really shady history when it comes to dealing with community activists. If nobody speaks up, then it just gets pushed under the rug and it never gets dealt with."

• Mystic