Devine Carama tells a personal and vulnerable story—about the man that most people don’t know, and why he often feels invisible even as a celebrated hip hop artist, activist and speaker.
About the speaker
Devine Carama is a socially-conscious hip hop artist, educator, community activist, and motivational youth speaker from Lexington, KY. He is director of a Kentucky-based nonprofit organization for youth called Believing in Forever, Inc. He is featured at the University of Kentucky where he teaches a course called “Lyricism & leadership: Hip Hop & Community Change.”
In December 2018, Devine performed outside in the cold for 48 hours straight to raise awareness for his annual youth coat drive, “A Coat to Keep the Cold Away.” Over the past six years, Believing in Forever has facilitated the collection of over 10,000 coats to children in Central and Eastern Kentucky.
Musically, Devine has worked with and/or opened up for acts such as Rakim, Big KRIT, J.Cole, Talib Kweli, Nappy Roots, LL Cool J, Black Eyed Peas, Canibus, De La Soul, Little Brother and many more. His music has been covered by The Source, Vibe, and Complex Magazine. Through his most recent endeavor, “Kingtucky LLC,” Devine hosts local artistic events such as Brown Sugar, Community Expressions, Neo Soul Nights & Poetry in Motion.
Devine was recently appointed by Mayor Linda Gorton as Director of ONE Lexington, a program that works to coordinate, leverage and mobilize City Government and community resources to enhance safety and quality of life in neighborhoods experiencing violent crime.
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