He knows what it’s like to be evicted from his home. He knows what it’s like to live in poverty. And he wants to share his struggle — through music.

From the streets of Chicago to the stage on HBO’s Def Jam.

Fresno State senior Rion Spears, 22, also known as “Chicago,” has left the street life to entertain others.
The hip-hop artist was the opening act for Chingy last year at Vintage Days at the university and will soon release his first single, which was worked on by Kanye West.

Spears will be one of the nine performers at the Blue for Blues Benefit Concert on campus Sunday, Dec. 7.

Unlike many hip-hop artists, he is not out to sing about gold chains and chrome rims.

“I step away from the materialistic and focus on the real issues. If there is a mother with five kids on welfare, how can I rap about 25-inch wheels?” Spears said.

He is the middle child of a family with four boys and two girls.

At 21, the English major, has experienced what it is like to be evicted and live in poverty. “I was living in the streets, struggling financially,” Spears said.

After one of his brothers was incarcerated, he said that rather than follow in his brother’s footsteps, he found the motivation to make a definite change in his life.

“He’s locked up for 23 hours a day with absolutely no freedom — with nothing, but thoughts, a pen and a pad and a few books,” Spears said. “I don’t want to be in that predicament. I feel like I have to hold the family together. I feel like I am the one that has to buy my mom her house.”

Spears says he copes with the misfortunes in his life by singing and getting a reaction from the audience, whether it is tears of joy or anger.

“I feel like it is my responsibility to express that,” Spears said. “So many people are afraid to express the truth. I am sure that they have an uncle, a cousin, a friend — a friend that has a friend that is in jail. They can identify with what I am saying and hopefully use it as release for understanding.”

Spears attributes his writing and poetic abilities to the hardships he has encountered in his life, but says that even those students who have not been in similar situations can, at the very least, sympathize and feel something similar to when they see a 16-year-old child in Africa, hungry and with flies around his head.

“He has seen both sides of the street,” said Dalitso Ruwe, Fresno State junior and event organizer. “His message is trying to get out of the ghetto mentality.”

Ruwe is a member of the University Student Union Productions, which is hosting the benefit concert.
The idea is to get as many canned goods as possible to be donated to the Bulldog Pantry.

Admission will be $5 for students and $7 for general public, however, the event is free with a donation of canned goods.

Other local artists are also performing with Spears, such as Sahab, Fashawn, Mateo and Feather Da Wyz. The closing act will be a dance contest with local dance crews ranging from break-dancing to Krump.

So far Ruwe says they are expecting about 500 people, but hopes to get about 700 people to fill the Satellite Student Union at Fresno State, where the event will be held from 7 to 10 p.m.