Speak for Change is back with Khafre Jay of the Oakland-based Hip Hop for Change and a live set by Lyrical I.

Lyrical l is Artist that been doing spoken word and hip hop in Santa Cruz for over 16 years consistently staying true to the arts and the movement. Lyrical l is passionate about music and life and self-expression. His music speaks stories of real life with every word. Lyrical l Also started working at Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos in February working in a recording studio helping the youth with leadership positive role model that's there Monday through Friday 9:00 to 5:00 showing up putting in the work Non-Stop. Lyrical l was born in Los Angeles but Santa Cruz give him his opportunity to achieve.

Among the many roles he fills, Khafre Jay is a change-maker, community organizer, nonprofit worker, Hip Hop Artist, and the best father ever. As a Bay Area, Hunters Point activist fighting for racial and socioeconomic justice, he empowers community members to use their voices and resist structures of inequality—and he does so in large part through Hip Hop organizing. His passions for music, grassroots solutions, and community justice drove him to create the nonprofit Hip Hop For Change, which utilizes hip hop to break down barriers between youth and justice issues that affect their lives and communities. So far, he's employed over 1000 people in his community, educated over 30 thousand youth K-12, raised over 5 million dollars through grassroots means, and now he's coming for the rest of the nation. He needs all the support he can get right now.

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For all this, Khafre's work has recently been recognized by the Zellerbach Family Foundation and the San Francisco Symphony, winning both the 2020 William J. Zellerbach Award for Social Change and the Symphony's 2020 Ellen Magnin Newman Award for outstanding arts organization. Khafre has graced Mother Jones, The Daily Kos, The SF Chronicle, The Oakland Tribune, POP VULTURE Magazine, and Musicbailout. His work has been featured on CBS News, The Black News Network, NBC Bay Area, and PBS News Hour. Khafre's brand of raw, revolutionary, anti-white supremacist and misogynist, community-oriented Hip Hop is a plus on any stage.

Speak for Change was founded with the mission of creating positive and lasting social change in our local and global communities. From a studio at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz, Thomas Sage Pedersen has hosted over 100 podcast episodes – and now, Speak for Change and Indexical bring you a series of live events! Each event features an interview and a musical guest, with new and custom sets tailored to the topic of conversation.

Thomas Sage Pedersen’s mission and purpose has shifted throughout the years, but has always revolved around: to explore and implement innovative ways to inspire and create communities that are rooted in health, self-awareness, communication, creativity, accountability, courage and nonviolence. He continues to explore these principles in his personal life as well as in organizations he has created, helped create or are a part of.

Thomas is the CEO and Founder of the award winning music school Everyone’s Music School. He is the founder and main host of the podcast Speak For Change Podcast. He also has his own radio show on KSQD 90.7 fm in Santa Cruz County called the Speak For Change Radio hour. He is a co-Founder and the main facilitator of the Black Kings of Santa Cruz County which is a black men’s group here in Santa Cruz County rooted in brotherhood and connection.

He is a member of the Santa Cruz Equity Collaborative who are popularly known for holding responsibility for the BLM mural here in Santa Cruz. When not working in the community Thomas likes to write, paint and create music. He lives in the Redwoods of Santa Cruz County with his amazing artist wife Lauren Ringelman.