Creative Activism & Activist Art Favorite 

Before Chance the Rapper performed at sold-out concert venues, he practiced his rhymes in front of an intimate crowd of roughly a dozen people at Harold Washington Library. Now the rapper is trying to return the favor, one open mic at a time.

Jay-Z rapped alongside side Bono, the Edge and Rihanna; Coldplay's Chris Martin moonlighted as Beyoncé's piano player; Justin Timberlake covered Leonard Cohen — and those performances, from January 22nd's multinetwork, $66 million-grossing telethon for Haitian earthquake victims, were just the most visible of musicians' efforts to raise funds.

Drake has released an emotional video for "God's Plan" in which he donates the music video budget to people in need.

Shot in Miami and directed by Toronto's Karena Evans and Jordan Oram, the video features a bunch of generous, grand gestures.

Another incredible artist determined to change the world for animals is Dana Ellyn. This DC-based artist started being a full-time painter in 2002 after leaving a corporate job. Her paintings do not shy away from showing the exploitation of animals, as well as critiquing society in general. Her paintings are meant to start a conversation, and they are certainly doing that as effective advocacy for animals.

In keeping with his activist turn on 2016’s 4 Your Eyez Only, J. Cole’s new album, KOD, is an exploration of addiction. The title has three different meanings that all speak to this aim: Kids On Drugs, King OverDosed, and Kill Our Demons. Each feeds into the next in this narcotic odyssey.