NomiS details his passion for Social Justice and the World Cup

First and foremost are you enjoying this year's World Cup?

I haven't been watching a ton, but I have watched both USA games and have definitely enjoyed those. Saw some pretty impressive highlights from Mexico as well.

Speaking of the World Cup, you recently recorded and released a song called "World Cup (Drink of It)". What is the inspiration behind this song?

The inspiration of the song comes first from my passion for Social Justice. Issues of modern slavery (whether it be sex trafficking or manual labor), are pretty much always present in any large scale, tourist attracting event. Some friends of mine were in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, and that's where my eyes were opened to these issues as it pertains to sporting events. I had already been learning about human trafficking for about 2 years prior, but was still in the early stages of how it all worked and where it was happening.



Why do issues such as sex trafficking and labor related issues garner less press than other issues?

There are many reasons, but I will just address two of them. At its basic level, sex trafficking is an issue that almost everyone knows exists, but most don't realize how close to home its happening. When your average person thinks of the sex trade, they think of countries like Thailand. Most don't understand that this is happening all over the united states, therefore its easier to not think about.

When you can't relate to the face thats oppressed, its much easier to feel like you aren't responsible for them. Beyond that, the sad reality is that Human Trafficking (in my opinion) garners less press for the simple fact that without it, American lives would be more uncomfortable across the board. We love getting things cheap, we dont want to change our shopping habits. We love being comfortable. It's easier to speak up for things like "Invisible Children (Child Soldiers)" or "bring our girls home" because you can see that it's wrong, and changing it wont effect your life.

You are an activist for a variety of things. What drives you to present the activism in rhyme form?

That is a great question. I address these issues through HipHop & Spoken Word for the simple fact that writing songs is what I know how to do best. Whenever im on the road, one of the main things I try to get across to people is that we all have a role to play in the good fight.

You don't need to be an artist to be an activist. You don't even need to be creative. I've spent countless hours around Human Trafficking Non-Profits, and trust me, the artists are NOT the ones that keep these things running smoothly. We're just often the face of it. Admin skills, people skills, organizational talents, etc. Whatever you do best, you can find a way to use that in this movement, or any movement you're passionate about.



Which country will win the World Cup?

USA ALL DAY!