The Battle of Ideas Tour is a fundraising effort, led by The Insurrection who will perform at five venues in Boston and Philadelphia so that a Boston-based delegation of young artists and activists can participate and perform at the 3rd US/Cuba Youth Exchange and the Cuban International Hip Hop Festival in July and August 2003 in Havana. Even though U.S. censorship, blind patriotism and corporate raiding are being portrayed as American values, the significance of showing s …

Roxbury native Rollins Ross recently returned from Puerto Rico where he was on tour at the San Juan Hotel and celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Martha’s Vineyard Cottagers. Despite the whirlwind travel, Ross was upbeat and relaxed when I entered his Mattapan home for our interview. His living room was filled with CDs, DVDs, a piano and music memorabilia. Although a jazz musician at heart, he loves his R&B and his long-standing band, Soul Source, will be laying rhythm an …