The United Nations
will host the first ever Global Hip-Hop Summit in South Africa tomorrow (Oct.
20) in an effort to achieve their Millennium Development Goals.
The UN’s Millennium Development Goals include the upliftment
of millions of youth around the world using Hip-Hop music.
The summit will take place in various areas of The Newtown Precinct
and will gather Hip-Hop artists, activists and members of society to debate
and discuss matters relevant to the Hip-Hop community.
American rapper Guru of Gangstarr fame will headline a concert
associated with the event on Friday (Oct. 20) in Newtown Park, supported by
artists from Kenya, Senegal, South Africa, the U.S., Bangladesh and Cameroon.
“This is an exciting moment in the South African music
industry – indeed in the hip-hop industry worldwide,” said event coordinator
Sipho Sithole of Native Rhythms Productions. “We’ve literally gathered
an impressive array of the genre’s most relevant voices who have taken
ownership of the discussion on youth issues. The next two days are going to
be fascinating, challenging and a real educational journey!”
A mini-film festival will also take place during the two day
Global Hip-Hop Summit, will feature such names as Beatmaker, Yfm’s Lee
Khasumba, Tbo Touch of Metro FM, DJ Awadi, K’naan, Tumi & the Volume,
Zuluboy and Sudanese rapper and child soldier-rights activist Emmanuel Jal.
The UN developed eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that
include halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, extreme poverty, providing universal
primary education and others, by 2015.