Homelessness and food insecurity are huge problems in Connecticut, one of the nation’s richest states.

There are more than 3,500 unhoused people in Connecticut, a number that has risen for the fourth straight year, and food insecurity is at alarming levels, too: about 14% of the state is food insecure, or 1 in 7 people. 

Teacher, musician, and community organizer Joey Batts uses hip-hop to fight these dual problems. This is the 12th year Batts has produced the Hip Hop for the Homeless concert series, with each preceding year more successful than the last: over the past 11 years, Batts and his crew have raised over $50,000, with $10,000 from last year alone. You can help them raise even more this year.

Starting December 4 in New Haven, Joey Batts and his crew will put on eight shows over three weekends in seven cities: Hartford and New Britain, Norwich and Simsbury, Manchester, New Haven, and New London. They’ll also collaborate with The Professors of Sweet, Sweet Music at Black Eyed Sally’s in Hartford.

Here Batts shares about Hip Hop for the Homeless’ origins, the ways he and the event have evolved in tandem, and how HH4H is more than just a series of fundraisers: they’re essential showcases for the state’s rich well of hip-hip artists.

Where did Hip Hop for the Homeless start?

It started from the idea that homelessness doesn’t always look the same and realizing that my network of friends and I could produce a series of shows that didn’t just benefit me and my band, or only the hip hop community in Connecticut, but for a bigger reason.

You’re the MC, you’re organizing this, but none of the shows are about you. You’re not at the center. You found people, have nurtured this community.

That’s a huge part of the success of shows – not just the money raised, but the success of the nights: how well they’ve been attended, how well we’ve been received by the nonprofits that we work with in those towns. Now that we’ve been doing it for so long, I can count on people. This year I think we booked nine shows, but I only have to worry about maybe two or three of those, because I’ve delegated to someone, and I trust their vision.

You’ve been doing this event for so many years. Has how you’ve approached it or thought about it changed?

It has changed. I’m more knowledgeable now. I recognize that a lot of places and a lot of organizations that are getting state or city benefits are not, in my humble opinion, utilizing those resources either quickly or efficiently. 

Now that [HH4H] is fully incorporated, my thinking has shifted to “How can we expedite those processes? How can we use our reach and what we’re able to do with the group of folks that we have attracted to our cause? How can we mobilize and really move the needle?”

I would imagine that people have started approaching you, either to perform, to help out… 

Often, or at least initially, the first wave of people who reach out are people who want to provide their talent, or who live in those cities where we’re performing and want to put on for their community. That’s a huge part of hip-hop, right? I recognize that, and I try really hard not to be a gatekeeper in those regards. 

The second wave and the tertiary wave are folks who are like, “I can’t sing, I don’t rap, I don’t want to be on stage, how can I help? Do you need me to drive clothes somewhere? Do you need me to pick up donations? Can I help you break down the stage?”

Some of that is also how you approach it. Everyone is donating their time. The money, the food, all goes directly to somewhere in the town.

I have aged as Hip Hop for the Homeless has aged, right? Year one and two, we were just like, “Whatever, dude, show up. Something might happen. Something might not…” 

Twelve years in, now I’m in my 40s; my network takes me seriously. I need to be able to go into the corporate world. If we truly want to do bigger things, we need to start getting bigger partners and corporate sponsors. Those people know immediately if you are a professional or not, right?

At the shows you have people our age, people younger. You really seem interested in not just encouraging people, but learning from them.

I think that’s necessary. Not just because I’m thinking of the longevity of Hip-Hop for the Homeless. Hip-hop is one of the youngest genres and it’s always changing. The sub-genres of hip-hop are so different. It’s not like rock and roll at all, where classic rock and alternative rock, you could stomach them both, you might love them both. 

Rap can be very polarizing. I think it’s important when we do build our lineups that we try to have different representations of folks who take their art seriously and who are willing to be professional on stage, because they’re still representing what we have created.

You’ve very consciously tried to make the shows include a lot of styles and approaches. 

Which is insane to think about, because Connecticut’s so small! Yet I’m still able to put eight artists on a bill in Hartford that are from the greater Hartford area that all sound different. That is such a testament to how rich our community is and how people still haven’t truly been discovered. 

Obviously, you’re busy for the rest of this year, but what are you thinking about and planning for next year?

The December tour will always be our biggest undertaking, but we had a pretty successful block party in August of 2025. It was not just super successful, but also really nice to see people thinking about Hip Hop for the Homeless before November and December. That’s something that we do want to continue to do. When I think about the organization, I want to make sure that we start to think about adding to our already strong board of directors.

The coolest thing that has happened, especially in the last four years, is the competition that the artists and the hosts have between cities. Like the ongoing battle between New Britain and New London of who’s going to raise more money. How cool is that? Sure, we’re raising money for people who need it, but we can still make a friendly competition out of it. I love to see that. The crowd gets into it; the people who live in the city get into it. It’s bragging rights.

Check out the Hip-Hop for the Homeless schedule to make sure you catch a show, if not more!