During the day, Dupriest Hill works as a registered nurse in the Bay Area. At night, he becomes Kuzzin Prece, one of three rappers in the group Po-Folks Children.

He also has a song that details his experiences with a custody battle, an abortion and an adoption.

All that made him a perfect fit to lead off Saturday afternoon's forum on black infant health at the King-Kennedy Memorial Center in Modesto.

"I see mothers coming into the hospital," Hill said, "and they're on drugs and their babies aren't going to survive. Seeing an infant born premature is something you'll never forget.

"They're hanging on by a thread and they don't even have anyone who really cares about their well-being. It's very sad."

The "Rappin' It Up" symposium featured rappers giving performances and later joining college professors and health services personnel on a panel discussing black issues. About 200 people attended the program, which kicked off Black History Month.

The event focused on black infant health because Stanislaus County has one of the highest infant mortality rates for blacks in the state, with 16 deaths per 1,000 births.

Statewide, black infants die at more than twice the state average of 5.8 deaths per 1,000 births.

"If any population has a high infant mortality rate, it suggests something is wrong with the entire population," said Michael Connor, a professor from California State University, Long Beach, who was the keynote speaker. "The assumption is that the stress of living in oppression has caused these negative consequences."

The exact cause of the state's high death rate among black infants hasn't been identified, but health workers said probable factors include poor prenatal health care, lack of health benefits, drugs and smoking.

"Rappin It Up" organizers decided to use rap music to draw young people to hear a message that directly affects them.

As the event was winding down, city of Modesto social services program supervisor Tommie Muhammad stood near one of the King-Kennedy exits. A young woman and her son walked past, and the woman explained to Muhammad that she had to get to work.

"There goes a single mother with two jobs, and she gave up some sleep to come here because it was hip-hop," Muhammad said. "I saw her go up and talk to two doctors, so I know she was actively seeking information. This is a good thing. This is exactly what we wanted."

Reprinted by permission of the Modesto Bee.