Although you wouldn't know it from listening to local commercial radio, Boston has a thriving little hip-hop scene. Although we can't claim many big-time national stars (basically, Gang Starr, and they moved to Brooklyn before making it big), we have some locals doing good stuff: Brighton's Mr. Lif, along with collaborators Akrobatik and Fakts-One, is fast becoming a darling of nationwide indy hip hop radio; Ed O.G. (he of 1991 nationwide radio hit "I Got to Have It") is doing good stuff with his new group, Special Teamz (based on what Bostonist has heard on WERS); and our city is even the home of UnderGroundHipHop.com, the leading clearinghouse on ye olde internette for independent hip hop. The City of Cambridge, perhaps sensing that this rap music the kids are listening to may be the wave of the future, wants to make sure that the next generation of Boston-area MCs and DJs reps for the 02138: How else to explain these ads on craigslist, seeking instructors in freestyling and DJing for Cambridge Youth Programs?

Perhaps wary of getting too many applicants who are expert swimmers, skiers, or BMX bike riders, one of the ads informs us that freestyling "is the art of spontaneously adding words to a beat." (No explanation is provided for DJing, but Bostonist supposes they're looking for people with serious cutting and scratching skills, not simply the ability to get everyone dancing at a bar mitzvah.) We'd be interested to see who applies - will it be up-and-coming MCs in search of that dirty little secret of the bling-obsessed rap world, the day job, or established stars trying to give something back to the kids? Bostonist e-mailed Cambridge Youth Programs to find out more. In the mean time, we'd love to hear from anyone who's taught or taken one of these courses, or who might be applying for one of the instructor jobs.