The movie Brown Sugar is, at its heart, a tribute to hip-hop — complete with a soundtrack featuring artists like Mos Def, Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, and Mary J. Blige. It follows Dre and Sidney, childhood friends whose love of hip-hop is what connects them throughout their life. This coming-of-age story celebrates how love and music feed one another — an idea that spoke to Nick George. From the first time he picked up the DVD at Walmart as a college student to his life now as a spoken-word poet and community leader, Brown Sugar has accompanied him as a grown-up in life, in art, and in love.

George is an author, poet, and the founder of The Listening, Inc — a community organization that connects the performing arts to healing, mentoring, and social impact. Nick is also an adjunct professor at Central Virginia Community College. You can hear more of his wonderful storytelling wisdom in his TEDx talk “Revenge of the Snap.”

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