Rappers join Occupy activists in push for 'foreclosure-free zone'

Rappers Chuck D. from Public Enemy and Brother Ali joined members of Occupy Wall Street Thursday in taking over an abandoned home in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as part of what the activist group calls a campaign to institute a "foreclosure-free zone" in the southern part of the city.

"We're gonna write the first chapter in a new narrative," said Occupy Homes organizer Mal Reeves. "A narrative that says that people should come before property."

According to The Uptake, the group of about 200 demonstrators met at the home of Bobby Hull, a resident of the area whose own home had been "occupied" a year ago by the campaign, which earned him national media attention and, eventually, helped him win a mortgage renegotiation.

The group then marched to take over a vacant house that used to belong to another resident, John Vinje, who was evicted earlier this year.

"When I was growing up during the time of R and B -- that's Reagan and Bush -- I couldn't understand, as I was going to school, all the boarded-up cribs in my neighborhood, with people living on the street," Chuck said.

Watch footage from the march and remarks by Brother Ali, Chuck D. and members of Occupy Homes, posted by The Uptake on Saturday, below.