Joseph Mbilinyi’s stage name translates as “stubborn,” and he’s not letting a prison stint deter his message.

Dressed in a slim-fit V-shaped sweater with matching trousers, he storms the stage like a superhero. The audience erupts as he spits politically charged rhymes into the microphone. His soulful melodies and lyrical style keep the crowd swinging as the disco lights filter through puffs of smoke during a performance at music venue Dar Live.

Joseph Mbilinyi — aka Sugu (stubborn), II Proud or simply Mr. II — is a legendary Tanzanian musician and businessman. A pioneer of “Bongo Flava,” a music genre heavily influenced by U.S. hip-hop, he has released more than 20 albums and clinched numerous awards. His songs not only get the crowd moving, but they provoke political discussion on human-rights issues and social justice. “Sugu was a politician with no official title,” says Mike Mhagama, a friend and former host on Radio One.

Until he became a real politician, that is. As a member of parliament, Sugu, 46, is one of the most prominent dissidents challenging the regime of President John Magufuli — authorities even tossed him in jail in February for insulting the president. Sugu was released after 73 days and seemed to relish the moment: “I have entered in history books as a political prisoner,” he says.

The ultimate showman better known as the U.S. president has inspired an engaged citizenry.

Ray Santiago knows how engaged liberals are in what’s going on in Washington. He saw for himself when protesters swarmed during the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. That, for him, was the final straw. He typically only picks up a ballot once every four years, but this time he plans to vote in the U.S. midterms.

“I can’t let a crowd like that control the country,” Santiago, 63, said outside a polling place in Hope Mills, North Carolina, home to one of the closest congressional contests in the country this year. Santiago’s also pushing his friends and family to vote in support of Republicans who will back Donald Trump. “I think he’s doing a good job.”

Want to bond with your new baby, athlete dads? Better not miss a game.

Miles Mikolas had worked his entire nine-year career for this opportunity, and when he finally earned it, he had to walk away. On May 21, the St. Louis Cardinals pitcher threw his first major league complete game, a shutout. Not long thereafter, he earned his first All-Star selection. But life had other plans.

The day before the July 17 All-Star Game, Mikolas’ wife, Lauren, went into early labor with the couple’s twins. Mikolas flew to Jupiter, Florida, to be present for the twins’ birth and subsequent stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.

The twins — and Lauren — are fine, and Mikolas returned to the mound, helping lead the Cardinals to a strong finish this season. But when his family needed him during that All-Star week in July, he was able to be there, no questions asked, thanks to Major League Baseball’s paternity leave policy.