One person who should be well known to the hip-hop culture is a Nobel Peace Prize nominee. His memoir, ‘Blue Rage, Black Redemption’ is a great informative read. The DVD ‘Redemption’ staring Jamie Foxx, and Lynn Whitfield has earned worldwide critical acclaim.

Stan ‘Tookie’ Williams is also in struggle and his words and insight should be looked into by everyone; especially those in the hip-hop community who are aware of the ‘Red and Blue’ influences in the culture.

Many hip-hop and rap artists are members or are affiliated with different gangs and this is no secret, as many sport sect tattoos or talk freely about their affiliations with different groups.

A recent article by Bob Egelko of The San Francisco Chronicle shows that not everyone is familiar with Stan ‘Tookie’ Williams, or at least his background but they do acknowledge his recent accomplishments.

‘President's Honoree is Inmate on Death Row’ By BOB EGELKO San Francisco Chronicle

A White House council on volunteerism said Friday it's taking another look at how the President's Call to Service Award — accompanied by a laudatory letter from President Bush — was issued to Stanley "Tookie" Williams, a California Death Row inmate who has written a series of books warning young people against the gang life.

A spokesman for the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation said neither the council nor Bush had any way of knowing that the person they were honoring was a condemned multiple murderer.

"We''re reviewing the case," said the spokesman, Sandy Scott. "We''re looking at who he is, how he got the award and what the organization is that certified him for the award.

"We''ve never had anything like this before," Scott said.

Williams, 51, a co-founder of the Crips street gang, was sentenced to death for four 1979 murders in the Los Angeles area, crimes which he denies committing. He renounced gangs after eight years in prison and has since written 10 books.

Admirers have nominated him for the Nobel Prize in both peace and literature. A cable network aired a movie about his life last year called Redemption. Co-author Barbara Becnel, executive director of the Neighborhood House of North Richmond, said that about 60,000 e-mails have been sent to his Web site, www.tookie.com, and that he is credited with saving or turning around countless lives.