Ric Wilson Releases 'The Sun Was Out' EP and Discusses Chicago Activism

Ric Wilson feels that 2015 was a year of progress for Chicago. Despite the violence, protests, and racial tensions that have roiled the city, Wilson says Chicago is finally hearing the voices of the oppressed, and trying to make a positive change. 2015 was a good year for Wilson as well. Wilson released his The Sun Was Out EP to critical acclaim and has already earned a name for himself in the underground Hip Hop scene. Wilson spoke to HipHopDX about his role in Chicago activism this year, as well as his recent release and prospects for the future.

Wilson told HipHopDX that he was happy with the progress made by activists in Chicago this year. "Right now I'm sort of smiling looking at the successful year we had in the organizing community here in Chicago," says the rapper. While the news media has largely focused on the strife surrounding the Chicago protests, Wilson believes that certain areas of progress should be focused on in order to put the issues in their proper context.

One example of Wilson's activism proving beneficial is the opening of a trauma center at the University of Chicago's Hyde Park campus. This came after "years of organizing and constant resistance," Wilson explains. The trauma center "is big because the closest trauma center on the South Side is past downtown and with the creation of one on the South this can save a lot of lives."

Wilson says he is now trying to figure out the balance between his creative and activist personas. He says he feels a responsibility to the community to be a megaphone for it's message.

"I'm really trying to find out where my activism and art mix," he says. "I'm noticing I'm becoming more of a mouthpiece to the movement so I think it's my duty to never turn my back on my people and Black struggles."