Dakar, Senegal - In a country where journalists are banned from saying or writing what they want, hip-hop artists have stepped up to speak for those who can’t. Moussa Lo, a.k.a. Waterflow, is one of Senegal’s most famous hip-hop artists. He said he became a hip-hop singer not for success or his own glory, but to be “the voice of the voiceless.” “Hip-hop in Africa needs to grow,” Waterflow told ABC News, “because we are the journalists for the people.”

While Senegal’s daily news papers praise the government’s action – new roads being built for a recent summit, urban renovations — Waterflow denounces the corruption and the poverty that plague his country. “Most people,” he said, “the masses, don’t have everything they [need] to live a normal life. They don’t have running water, often they don’t have electricity.” (more…)

Accompanied by a representative of the U.S. Embassy in Managua, Brooklyn-born rapper George “Ritmo” Martinez and DJ Smash toured some of the more depressed barrios in Nicaragua this week in an attempt to inspire at-risk youth by channeling their creative talents through hip-hop. The “cultural ambassadors,” as a U.S. embassy called them, visited León, Rivas and Managua this week, where they discovered that the U.S.-born art form is well-received among young Nicaraguans.

Martinez said Nicaraguan culture has a “different type of feel” than other Central American countries. “There’s a sense of optimism, hopefulness here that’s not in other places. Most people have some sort of connection to this culture of hip hop. It’s hip hop al estilo nicaragüense,” he said. (more…)

It looks like Dead Prez is representing hip-hop and making the news at this week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver. Above is a video from a Denver rally shot by Democracy Now - featuring an interview with Dead Prez on the war, voting and hip-hop. After the break is footage of the group’s involvement in an anti-war protest on the steps of Colorado’s State Capital building. (more…)

Kanye West, T-Pain and Akon are among the performers on “True to the Game,” a compilation CD of R&B and hip-hop songs that will benefit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. The CD, which will be released October 21 and distributed by Pyramid/Fontana/Universal, is the first project from Stadium Entertainment, a privately financed company that aims to combine music, social consciousness and philanthropy.

According to news sources, a percentage of the proceeds from “True to the Game” will be donated to the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, which will use the proceeds to help fund a $15 million education and research center within the historical landmark building where the Negro Leagues were established in 1920. (more…)

Salisbury, NC - Hundreds of children have bags full of school supplies courtesy of a local hip hop group. Untouched Entertainment put a notice in the local Post news offering free school supplies Thursday at sites in East Spencer and Salisbury. “People are having hard times,” said Kenney Coney, one of the five members of Untouched. “We wanted to help out.”

The turnout was nearly overwhelming. More than 300 children turned out at the Kujimani After School Program at 207 S. Long St. “We ran out of everything,” Coney said. No problem. The band members, including Coney, Domonek Wilder, Steve Frost, Terrence Gooden and Lamont Tucker, made a quick trip to Wal-Mart and reloaded. (more…)

Hip Hop MC Plies, aka Algernod Lanier Washington, has announced news of his very own non-profit organization, Big Gates and Plies Power Of Visions Foundation, Inc.; as well as a scholarship program, the “Somebody Loves You” Scholarship Fund. The hip hop MC instituted the Scholarship Fund for those who have a parent(s) that are presently incarcerated and who are financially disadvantaged.

Plies, the Ft. Myers, Florida-bred, Big Gates/Slip-N-Slide/Atlantic recording hip hop MC, continues to ride the wave of success proven by his sophomore hip hop / rap release, “DEFINITION OF REAL,” which debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200, selling 215,000 copies in its first week. In fact, the album’s first week sales gave Plies the highest selling first-week numbers in the history of Miami-based Slip-N-Slide Records. (more…)

The Hip Hop Caucus and Multi-Platinum, Grammy Award Winning Superstar T.I. have joined forces to launch a powerful new voter registration and Get Out the Vote campaign that combines the power of celebrity and media with 21st century grassroots organizing tactics to mobilize and educate young people between the ages of 18 and 29, who are not in college.

The campaign slogan, “Respect My Vote!” and t-shirts were unveiled today at a press event in Washington, DC, with DJ Green Lantern, Dawn from Danity Kane, Young Berg, Maino, Wale, Young Steff, Washington Wizard Etan Thomas, Olympic Gold Medalist Anthony Killieberew, Immortal Technique, Pleasure P, World Class Sprinter and Champion Michael Walton, BET Executive Vice President Stephen Hill and many others turning out to support. (more…)

It’s a world in which hundreds of hip-hop groups are forming across the island, inspired by not only the love of the beat, but of the forceful, often-political, empowerment that it brings. But unlike hip-hop in the United States, there’s no promise of a better life in Cuba for rappers or those who crave that musical motivation for change.

Albuquerque’s Cyrus Gould knows the world news well. Gould, 26, is among the more than 130 Pastors for Peace volunteers from the United States, Canada and Europe who will challenge what they believe is the immoral and illegal U.S. travel and trade restrictions against Cuba on July 3. Gould and a few others were picked up by a caravan winding its way across the U.S. on Thursday night. (more…)

Take music and DJs, breakdancing, graffiti, rhythms and poetry. Swirl it around. The result is hip-hop, which has recently become a tool to fight human trafficking in Brazil. The new video clip “Don’t Traffic,” by a hip hop group from the outskirts of the capital Brasilia, is reaching youngsters with simple and effective language. “The message uses their own language, including slang,” said 25-year-old group member Allison Costa. “These lyrics stick.” (more…)

Renowned rapper and activist Immortal Technique, in conjunction with Fat Beats Record Store, will be encouraging the hip-hop generation to register to vote at his record release party in New York for his third album, “The 3rd World.” News sources confirm that the party will start at midnight on Monday, June 23rd at the New York location of Fat Beats Record Store.

Immortal Technique and Fat Beats owner and founder Joseph Abajian decided to include a voter registration booth at his record release party with the shared goal of getting the hip-hop generation involved in the presidential election. Says Mr. Abajian, “The original intent of hip-hop was to lead a more informed, righteous life by getting kids out of gangs and educating them.” (more…)