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Mal Jones
Mal Jones is Jacksonville’s 1st cultural ambassador of the arts who uses hip hop culture as his platform to bridge the gap between culture and education. He is the founder of The Lyricist Live, a community freestyle rap cypher and educational workshop that encourages youth to use self-expression freely without the usage of foul language. In 2019, Jones was invited to host a TEDxJacksonville Talk and in 2016, he became the first Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville Ambassador of the Arts bringing his poem “Hip Hop Shakes” to Bristol England to represent Jacksonville for their 400th year anniversary of Shakespeare celebration. In 2013, Jones was named the first Hip Hop artist in Florida’s history to be labeled as a Folk Artist by The Florida Folklife Program and Division of Historical Resources for his traditional skill of improvisational freestyle rap.