Taxpayers pick up Asian hip-hop tour promoted by U.S. State Department

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By Cheryl K. Chumley

The Washington Times

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

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The U.S. State Department is going hip-hop.

The department’s Bureau of Educations and Cultural Affairs said it’s sending the San Francisco-based hip hop group, Audiopharmacy, on a Southeast Asia and Pacific tour, as part the federal agency’s American Music Abroad program.

“With roots in hip hop, Audiopharmacy fuses live instrumentation and global musical styles, making for an eclectic and evolving sound,” said the State Department, in a release reported by the Weekly Standard.

The size of the tab Uncle Sam will stick to taxpayers is unclear.

The group’s tour schedule looks like this: Indonesia, Feb. 14-16. Fiji, Feb. 7-March 4. New Zealand, March 5-7. Samoa, March 8-11. Solomon Islands, March 12-16.

The Weekly Standard continues: “tour activities will include public concerts, lectures, demonstrations, workshops, media outreach and collaborations with local traditional and popular musicians.”

The American Music Abroad program is a joint State Department-American Voices diplomatic effort to bring U.S. culture to underserved populations around the world.

About the Author

Cheryl K. Chumley

Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.