Introducing...

They've been around for a while now, but I only just found out about the The Hip-Hop Chess Federation:

a non-profit that fuses music, chess and martial arts to promote unity, strategy and non-violence. The HHCF hosts celebrity chess benefits where underserved youth play chess for educational scholarships and engage cultural icons from various backgrounds. By blending logic and art we pave new paths to greatness for American youth.

And if you're as decidedly uncool as me, I suspect this might be the first you've heard of them too.

The HHCF also keep up a rather intriguing blog with a whole mixture of articles. As one might expect, the language is a lot more lively than the letters pages of New In Chess, the symbolism a lot more socially relevant than the Informator index.

I particularly enjoyed this post:

Yo, my brother from another mother, Dlabrie finally locked horns on the chessboard. It was so dope!!! We played old jams froms PE, NWA, Busy Bee and the Funky 4 plus 1 as we drank tea. He's been a true soldier for the HHCF and he is sooo skilled on the mic. But lyrics to not win chess games!! LOL...

He made and early mistake in the gae and I kept the pressure, but it was a hard win... It takes a nation of millions to hold me back from taking DLabries king. Its a chess thing.

And here's a good sample from the serious end of the spectrum: an article that starts "Woe to the statesman whose reason for entering a war do not appear so plausible at its end as at its beginning," asks in its middle, "Can you really put a price on taking a mans site? What is cost of putting a woman in a wheelchair with a bullet? How do we tally the mental scars that heal after the knife wound has healed up?" - & goes on to conclude, "The prisons are packed with people who regret not taking that reflective breath in a moment of anger. Don't let yourself be one of them."

Not your average chess blog, not your average chess organization.