With song titles like “End the Occupation” and lyrics like “My Lord is one of compassion and takes action / Doesn’t waste his time and energy practicing gay bashing,” Ernesto “Eroc” Arroyo’s message might not lend itself to commercial radio. Nevertheless, the 25-year-old rapper, one half of Boston hip-hop outfit Foundation Movement, doesn’t hold the success of less conscious radio rappers against them. 

“All hip-hop is a message, it just may not be the one you want to hear,” Arroyo told The Muse. He plans to move to Brooklyn this June with his partner in rhyme, Banjineh “Optimus” Browne, in search of greater exposure for the group. 

Since Eroc and Optimus joined forces in Boston in 2001, they have performed all over the world — even hitting up Africa, Cuba and Palestine. The group released its debut full-length album, “Greatest Hits,” last April. 

“If everything in hip-hop sounded like me, I would be extremely bored with it,” says Eroc. “I don’t believe in censorship. I believe in adding alternatives.”  Through Foundation Movement, the raspy-voiced Eroc and smooth-sounding Optimus bolster rap listeners’ options by spitting with a sense of activism. 

Arroyo’s parents, Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo and teacher Elsa Montano, exposed him to the importance of engaging in his surroundings at an early age.  He was “born an activist,” says his father. “He was very observant about what was just and what was not.” 

On Feb. 27, 2003, the City of Boston honored Foundation Movement for its community service with its own day, a distinction made possible by Councilor Arroyo and fellow City Councilor Chuck Turner.  This Saturday, the group will host a benefit show at Cambridge’s Western Front to celebrate the fifth anniversary of “Foundation Day.” 

Time will eventually indicate whether or not Foundation Movement can bring its style of hip-hop to a national audience, but until then, whether in Boston or Brooklyn, Eroc and Optimus plan on spreading their messages to whoever will listen. 

“It’s more than music…” Foundation states on their Myspace.com page.  “It’s a movement.”