Soul Food Cypher Uses AI to Strengthen Community Through Hip Hop

Photo Credit: Soul Food Cypher

For 15 years, Soul Food Cypher has been creating something increasingly rare: a place where people truly listen to one another.

On the fourth Sunday of every month, emcees, rappers, and lovers of hip hop culture gather in a circle at CreateATL in Adair Park. One by one, participants freestyle, challenge one another with wordplay, and create music together in real time. There are no scripts, no rehearsals—just creativity, connection, and community.

“It’s one of the few places where people give one another their undivided attention,” said Alex Acosta, founding executive director of Soul Food Cypher. “You’re standing in a circle. It’s eye-to-eye. When someone speaks, you allow them to speak.”

For Acosta, those moments are about much more than music. They’re about addressing one of today’s greatest challenges: loneliness.

“We’re losing third spaces in America,” he said. “People need places where they belong, where they have a voice and a sense of purpose.”

That mission made Soul Food Cypher a natural fit for the Community Foundation’s AI Opportunity Accelerator, which helps nonprofits explore practical ways artificial intelligence can expand their impact while staying rooted in their mission.

Building Community Beyond the Cypher

While Soul Food Cypher’s monthly events are deeply impactful, Acosta recognized one challenge.

“The cypher is ephemeral,” he said. “People come together for one incredible night, and then it dissipates until the next month.”

Through the Accelerator, Soul Food Cypher began developing the Soul Food Cypher App, a digital platform designed to keep participants connected between events while extending the organization’s sense of community beyond the monthly gathering.

The organization is also using AI in creative ways during its live events. One of Soul Food Cypher’s co-founders is developing an AI-powered “bar counter” that helps emcees stay synchronized with the beat, giving newer performers confidence as they freestyle.

For Acosta, AI isn’t replacing the human experience—it is enhancing it.

Learning New Possibilities

Although Acosta had already been experimenting with AI before joining the Accelerator, the program expanded his understanding of what was possible.

“I was familiar with ChatGPT,” he said, “but the Accelerator introduced us to tools like Claude and Gemini and gave us an entirely new framework for thinking about AI.”

More importantly, the program paired Soul Food Cypher with PIN summer intern Solomon Rayton, whose technical expertise accelerated the organization’s vision.

Photo Credit: Soul Food Cypher

Throughout the summer, Solomon worked alongside app developer Troy “Flash The Philosopher” Gooden to help bring the Soul Food Cypher app to life.

Acosta doesn’t hesitate when describing Solomon’s impact. “Out of 10 stars, I give Solomon 11.”

The internship may have officially ended, but the partnership has not.

Solomon plans to remain involved with Soul Food Cypher as the app continues to develop and as the organization expands its work with young artists across Atlanta.

“I see the need to inspire the next generation,” Acosta said. “Solomon is part of that. That’s how we continue to stay relevant and ensure we’ll be around for another 15 years and beyond.”

Photo Credit: Soul Food Cypher

Technology That Creates More Human Connection

For Acosta, the Accelerator reinforced an important belief.

“The most exciting part of AI is being able to focus on the work instead of the repetitive tasks,” he said. “We’re a small nonprofit, so every hour matters.”

That efficiency allows Soul Food Cypher to spend more time where it matters most: creating spaces where people connect, communicate, and grow together.

For Soul Food Cypher, AI isn’t replacing community. It’s helping build stronger, more connected communities—one freestyle at a time.

Growing nonprofit capacity through AI

Through a partnership with the Partner for Innovation (PIN) Summer Internship Program, CFGA is helping nonprofits build long-term capacity through responsible AI. Four organizations that completed CFGA’s Google-sponsored AI Opportunity Accelerator, The Scholarship Academy, the Latin American Association, Soul Food Cypher, and Georgia ACT, were paired with college interns to implement, strengthen, and document their AI projects. This internship program ensures the tools and practices developed through the Accelerator can be sustained and shared across the nonprofit sector. This pilot builds on the Foundation’s 2025 investment of $1 million, sponsored by Google, to equip 17 nonprofits with the training, resources, and support needed to responsibly adopt AI and strengthen their impact.