what we do
how we do it
Rapbrary uses the power of words — both written and spoken — to preserve history, inspire change, and showcase diverse voices. We do this by:
Preserving, protecting, and promoting cultural stories and banned books. Rapbrary actively collects and circulates books by Black, queer, and other marginalized authors, especially ones frequently targeted for censorship. Through our monthly book club, Reading Came First, community members engage directly with texts that explore frequently challenged themes including race, identity, power, and systemic injustice. Whether we’re reading the “Bluest Eye,” “1984,” or the “1619 Project,” Rapbrary works to ensure that banned or contested literature remains accessible while fostering meaningful dialogue within our communities.
Bridging literacy and hip hop. Rapbrary’s writing workshops use rap as an entry point into literacy creation. These workshops provide a space for Black and brown youth to develop verbal skills, express their truths, and see their language and culture as valuable forms of storytelling. Participants learn to craft lyrics, analyze texts, and tell their own stories while building creative confidence and critical reading skills. This enables hip hop to serve as a bridge to deeper literacy, not a distraction from it, and to expand how we understand literacy itself.
Expanding access to books and literacy programs. Rapbrary partners with independent bookstores, libraries, and organizations throughout the Chicago community to expand access to books and programs and create spaces that cultivate literacy, self-expression, and activism. Through these partnerships, we can ensure that literature remains a tool for resistance and education, even in the face of efforts to erase our stories and voices.
Creating community space for connection and healing. Rapbrary recognizes literature and hip-hop’s historic roles as not only educational tools but also vehicles for community well-being. As censorship intensifies and social isolation deepens, we are creating a literary and cultural home that fosters empowerment and provides connection. Through hosting live performances, author talks, storytelling events, and monthly book clubs, we create spaces where the community can reflect on political moments, process shared experiences, and build social bonds. By merging literature, hip-hop, and intentional community-building, we are protecting access to vital stories while also creating a space where people can develop critical connections to counter social isolation and strengthen the networks necessary for sustained cultural and civic engagement.
Maintaining representation as preservation. For Rapbrary founder Roy Kinsey, experiencing moments of true representation in literature and expression through rap were formative moments during his youth and an inspiration for the organization’s founding. Rapbrary seeks to extend this experience for others by:
Centering Black and brown authors and hip-hop storytellers
Uplifting queer artists in both hip-hop and literary spaces
Ensuring that people of color see themselves inside literary institutions
Rapbrary is reimagining the future of libraries while also engaging hip-hop’s past and future. We’re a cultural archive and storytelling production hub dedicated to preserving hip-hop as a literary art form and providing a sanctuary for banned books and marginalized voices.
Founded by Chicago rapper, storyteller, and librarian Roy Kinsey, Rapbrary operates at and explores the future possibilities of the intersection of literature, lyrics, and literacy. Through amplifying Black and queer narratives and preserving and championing hip-hop’s literary traditions, we ensure that storytelling amplifies diverse voices and remains accessible to all. By treating rap lyrics, albums, and cultural memorabilia as literature, we preserve and highlight forms of storytelling that have historically been excluded from traditional archives and academic spaces, despite their cultural and global impact.
"Hip hop, libraries, and storytelling saved my life. Rapbrary is my attempt to make sure they can save someone else's too."
— Roy Kinsey
meet our founder
roy kinsey
Roy Kinsey is a Chicago rapper, librarian, author, educator, and cultural worker dedicated to preserving stories and creating spaces where people can imagine new possibilities for themselves and their communities.
Born and raised on Chicago's West Side, Roy's life was shaped by the stories that surrounded him, stories shared in his mother's home and grandmother's living room, stories discovered in libraries, and stories carried through hip hop. Those spaces became sanctuaries that affirmed his imagination, nurtured his creativity, and reminded him that his life held value and possibility.
As a young Black and queer person, Roy often searched for places where all of who he was could exist at once. Libraries, books, music, and storytelling became those places.
Those experiences would eventually lead him to become both an acclaimed artist and a librarian, uniquely positioning him at the intersection of culture, literacy, and community building.
Throughout his career, Roy has worked to challenge traditional ideas about what constitutes literature and where learning can happen. His work insists that hip hop is literature, that communities deserve to preserve their own stories, and that libraries can exist in unexpected places.
As the founder of Rapbrary, Roy has created programs, pop-up libraries, workshops, performances, archives, and cultural experiences that center storytelling, Black history, queer resilience, and community memory. Through Rapbrary, he seeks to build the kinds of spaces that once helped save him.
Roy is also the creator of the documentary Rapbrarian: Reading Came First, author of the children's book Deangelo and the Dandelion, and creator of the Dandelions multimedia project, all of which explore themes of memory, healing, identity, and belonging.
His work has been featured nationally through libraries, universities, festivals, and cultural institutions, earning recognition for his innovative approach to literacy and community engagement.
At the heart of everything Roy creates is a simple belief:
Stories change people.
They help us understand ourselves, honor our histories, and imagine futures beyond the circumstances we inherit.
Through Rapbrary, Roy continues his work of ensuring that more people—particularly Black, queer, and historically marginalized communities—have access to stories, spaces, and cultural experiences that remind them of their brilliance and their possibility.