HIP-HOP GIVES BACK!
Hip-Hop catches so much flack from the media and even the Civil Rights Generation, but I was pretty impressed by the number of rappers in the giving spirit over the holiday season. Shout out to all the rappers that gave. I decided to compile a few rappers and instances that did a bit of GOOD! Very simple. Below you will find interviews, video and pictures for your reading pleasure.
PLAY-N-SKILLZ!
Earlier this month, Play-N-Skillz took these orphaned kids on a shopping spree because their mother was killed. The Grammy award winning production duo spent the day giving back to the children of Lorena Perrusquia, who was brutally murdered in Dallas, TX. Her kids are Jorge (7 years old), David (8 years old) and Natalia (9 years old) and they no longer have a mother.
Play-N-Skillz picked up the children from school in a stretch limo and then took them to Grape Vine Mills Mall for a Christmas shopping spree. Lastly, they took the kids to the Maurie celebrity basketball tournament with Slim Thug, Tum Tum. Big Tuck, Chingo Bling, and others. This game was for charity as well. Here is a brief interview AHH did with the duo.
(Oh yeah: read our initial interview with the guys!)
AllHipHop.com: What made you give the kids the shopping spree?
PLAY: We heard about this single mother, Lorena Perrusquia who was murdered and stabbed in the chest with a butcher knife 23 times leaving behind three young children ages 7, 8 and 9 years old. This story really touched my brother Skillz and I because these kids are from the same type of environment that we grew up in. We felt a need to give back to these kids. If we could give them a few hours to escape the personal hardships they are going through now, we wanted to do it.
SKILLZ: We were already talking about how we wanted to give back this Christmas to a family in need and we happened to be getting back in town and heard the story on the radio. We tracked the kids down and planned a day of escape and fun for them. We picked them up from school in a limo and took them on a Christmas shopping spree at the mall. They played video games all day, ate junk food and then we took them to Maurie’s Celebrity Basketball Game that we played in. They had a great time.
AllHipHop.com: How was it for the kids?
PLAY: It was Incredible. They said they felt like they were in a movie. At first they were hesitant to pick anything from the mall, then when we told them to take whatever and as much as they wanted, they had huge grins on their face.
SKILLZ – They were really excited and grateful for what we were doing for them. They were like kids in a candy store.
AllHipHop.com: Do you think hip hop needs to do more?
PLAY: I think that there is always room for improvement with anything. But, I do believe that Hip hop gives back a lot, but its not always publicized. Skillz and I do a lot for our community in Texas, we have a “Perfect Attendance” program in Dallas – Fort Worth where we encourage the students to attend school everyday. At the end of the year we visit several schools with the most ‘perfect attendance” children and put on a show. Its been very successful getting the kids to school everyday and the kids love it.
SKILLZ: I do think that Hip Hop needs to do more. Artists should be using their fame as a way to uplift their community. That’s one of the best things about being in my position, its being able to give back. The Perrusquia kids have a scholarship fund set up at Chase Bank where people can make donations to for the kids.
DAVID BANNER GIVES BACK – RIGHT BACK!!!
David Banner is that dude! He poses the question…why can rappers make it rain in the club but not make it rain on the needy people in the hood? I think there is a mention of Rev. Al Sharpton, but I’m not one to encourage beef! Shout out to Banner!
BEANIE AND BILL COSBY MARCH FOR PEACE!
Beans said, “I come from these things, the streets,” said Sigel. “I’m at a time in my life where I’m trying to make the transition from something negative to something positive.”
LUDACRISMAS WAS ILL!
On Dec 22, Ludacris and Disturbing the Peace hosted a special Christmas party for a group of 150 Atlanta-area children between the ages of 6 and 12, as part of the Ludacris Foundation’s Luda Cares initiative.
J.PRINCE HEALS WITH MEALS!
Rap-A-Lot CEO/Prince Boxing owner James Prince was honored in Houston, Texas on December 17 for his recent donation of $100,000 dollars to Bread of Life Inc.’s Meals that Heal program.
YOUNG JEEZY AND TOYZ N DA HOOD!
You gotta love it – Toyz N Da HOOD! Young Jeezy is one of my fav rappers these days and he’s also a good guy!
Chart-topping rapper Young Jeezy presented a week-long toy drive and charity event series with his Corporate Thugz Entertainment (CTE) family, Atlanta Falcon’s star DeAngelo Hall and more!
EVEN IN HEAVEN LEFT EYE IS DOING GOOD!
The Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes Foundation’s second annual Celebrity Gift Wrap and Fundraiser came to a close just before the holiday, ending its three-week run at the Mall at Stone Crest in Lithonia, GA, just east of Atlanta.
PEACE!
There you have it – a few rappers that did some good over the holiday season. Good is good…
They keep us talking, but if we stop talking about them then they should worry!-illseedWHO: illseedWHAT: RumorsWHERE: AllHipHop.com, MySpace.com/TheIllseedHOW: Send your rumors and ill pics to illseed at ahhrumors@gmail.com.– allhiphop rumors