You don’t normally think of rap stars as having much to do with Washington’s health care debate. After all, hip-hop is mainly about young people and young people almost never think they’re going to get sick. But, even rappers get older, if they’re lucky. Bodies begin to give out, doctor bills begin to pile up and suddenly that health care debate hits home.

“Normally I find it kind of hard being a part of things like this,” said hip-hop artist Malik Taylor, better known as “Phife” or “Phife Dawg” from the Billboard award-winning rap group A Tribe Called Quest. (more…)

The power of music and the power of politics met Tuesday, with a hip-hop mogul and one of the most prominent leaders in Congress joining their considerable forces to spotlight issues facing youth in America.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi attended a youth conference co-sponsored by entrepreneur and entertainer Russell Simmons in Washington. The one-day event, called Keeping the Promise to Our Children, brought legislators together with entertainment A-listers, including Oscar-nominee Terrence Howard, who used their celebrity to advocate a variety of causes: foster care, health care and education among them. (more…)

Children Uniting Nations (CUN), one of the premier non-profit institutions working with at-risk youth, recently announced its partnership with Russell Simmons’ “Hip Hop Summit Action Network”, heading into the 4th Annual “Keeping the Promise to our Children” conference in Washington DC. Set for June 9th, HSAN president and historic civil rights veteran Dr. Benjamin Chavis held a key role in the new partnership’s formation, which will be formally introduced through a morning press conference held at the House Capitol Building and the following conference with panel discussions in the famous Woodrow Wilson Plaza located in the Ronald Reagan Building. (more…)

This is the trailer for “Lockdown, USA,” a feature documentary that chronicles Russell Simmons’ campaign to reform the Rockefeller Drug Laws, the controversial New York State laws created in 1973 that became the foundation to America’s War on Drugs.

Detroit, MI - Joseph Penrod, a Commerce Township kindergartener, possesses a ravenous appetite and a spirited love of soccer and dancing. His mother, Marissa Penrod, is determined to keep it that way. In the year since Joseph was diagnosed with a form of muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease that could rob him of his mobility, Penrod has become a fierce advocate for her son — and an overnight concert promoter.

After a chance meeting, Penrod and local hip-hop artist Hush came up with the idea of a concert to benefit the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Penrod hopes to sell 2,200 tickets to the Feb. 5 show at downtown Detroit’s Fillmore Theatre. In addition to Hush, the benefit will feature rhythm and blues band Hot Sauce and Southern rocker JoCaine. (more…)

My bad, the scavengers at CBS News are going to make you watch an ad first.

Event Emissary, producers of the Green Inaugural Ball presented by Discovery’s Planet Green, announced today that Grammy(R) Award-winner, Wyclef Jean, will perform at the ball on January 17, 2009 to be held in the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Co-producer Stephanie Campbell says, “We are ecstatic to have Wyclef perform on the 17th. As one of TreeHugger.com’s ‘Top 5 Most Buzzworthy Green Musicians,’ he is the perfect fit for an event that is not just green in name, but also in design and implementation.”

Wyclef Jean endorsed Barack Obama long before November 4, 2008 and performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. His charities, Yele Haiti Foundation and Together for Haiti, are improving thousands of lives across the island nation. Through Yele Haiti, Wyclef supports projects that are making a difference in education, health, environment and community development. (more…)

Hialeah Gardens, FL – Some South Florida children will not have to go without this holiday season thanks to a toy drive which is taking place Friday morning. Hip Hop superstar Pitbull, along with his foundation Imaginate, has teamed up with Power 96, and the Florida Marlins to help make the season bright for kids in need at a toy drive in Hialeah Gardens.

Pitbull has donated $5,000 worth of toys and is personally collecting new, unwrapped toys at the Wal-Mart in Hialeah Gardens. He’s also signing autographs for fans who donate toys at the toy drive. The overall goal for the toy drive is to supply 1,000 kids with toys this holiday season. All of the toys will be donated to the Amigos for Kids Foundation. (more…)

On Thursday, November 20, Immortal Technique will perform live on stage at San Francisco’s DNA Lounge, returning to the Bay to raise funds in support of a badly needed orphanage and medical center in war torn Afghanistan.

Working closely with human rights advocacy organization, Omeid International, Technique’s performance raises funds earmarked for developing the Amin institute in Kabul – where some of the two million orphaned and 60,000 homeless children of Afghanistan will receive full-scale rehabilitation from the devastating effects of war.  

Besides just doing the benefit show the hip hop artist Immortal Technique is pledging $10,000 of his own money and is traveling to the war torn heartland of Afghanistan to assure the final stages of construction are completed. (more…)

First-time voter Bow Wow is doing his part to spread democracy. The 21-year-old has been leading his own nonpartisan Walk Across America, a 15-city campaign, in conjunction with Declare Yourself and Black Youth Vote, to get young people out to the polls on November 4.

“It’s really to bring awareness to the young people, to let them know to get out and vote and get active in the community,” he told MTV News on Friday, when the campaign made a stop in New York City. He started that day’s walk at Long Island University in Brooklyn, stopped at the famous Junior’s diner, then crossed the Brooklyn Bridge into Manhattan. “Eight years ago, we had the opportunity … to get out there and vote. We showed up to the polls, but we didn’t really do what we were supposed to do. And now we’ve got a second chance to correct that mistake.” (more…)