Famous New Jersey Hip-Hop Artist Planning Run For City Council

NEWARK, NJ — It’s possible that Newark could have a platinum-selling hip-hop artist as its next councilman if musician-turned activist Dupré “Doitall” Kelly follows through on plans to run for the Newark City Council in 2018.

Kelly, a third of the Newark-based “Lords of the Underground,” is also a longtime community activist. He plans to officially announce his candidacy for city councilman on Thursday, a news release from his campaign team stated.

According to the news release:

“Throughout his life, Dupré Kelly has always had a passion for the City of Newark and a drive to serve his community. In 1994, Mayor of Newark Sharpe James honored his group with their very own ‘Lords of The Underground Day,’ making September 28 an annual holiday. Whether through his music, his fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha, business endeavors or his not-for-profit organization, Dupré serves his community in many capacities. He is co-founder of 211 Community Impact, a nonprofit company in Newark. (211 Community Impact helps through its grassroots programs addressing literacy, homelessness, mental health and wellness, education and gun violence, and currently runs many youth activities.) Furthermore, Kelly is co-CEO of 211 Media Group, a company that specializes in all aspects of media, television, and film production as well as event planning and consulting.”

Here are some of the local issues that Kelly is reportedly taking an interest in:

Lack of Funding for Youth Programming and Summer Jobs – “In order to secure a better tomorrow for us all, we must make greater investments in our youth today. This year over 5,000 Newark youth applied to the Mayor’s summer youth program, but due to funding constraints, the City was only able to employ roughly 2,500 students. Expanding private investment by $2 million for the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program will ensure that we can truly leave no child behind.”

Initiate Greater Activities Through Arts & Culture – “[Kelly] believes that the arts drive creativity, expand economic growth, and generate jobs The latest data from the Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account (A collaboration. of the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reveals that the arts and cultural sector contributed $729.6 billion or 4.2 percent to the U.S economy that year. Recent joint research by Newark Arts and Americans for the Arts revealed that Newark's Arts and Culture industry generates $178.3 million annually, provides resident income of $133 million, and supports 4,983 jobs (2016).

Lack of Civic Engagement Neighborhood Inclusion) – “We must begin to move the wards out of their individual cultural silos and encourage a new philosophy on the City Council to move away with protectionist attitudes and work together to serve the interest of the entire city. [Kelly] will work with stakeholders to make sure the neighborhoods are included in our current economic renaissance, and will create a massive ward by ward initiative encouraging our seniors to volunteer in mentoring and assisting our youth through our city programs.”

In the past, Kelly has been involved with local community-building efforts such as the “Roots, Rock, Run” 5K Community Walk/Run, and once took a group of Newark and East Orange elementary school students to see a Devils hockey game.

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