FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  FOR MORE INFORMATION

February 9, 2004                                     

Contact:  Jody L. Miller
Ellen Zoe Golden
JLM PR, Inc.
(212) 431-5227
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DAMON DASH AND THE HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK CONVENE LOS ANGELES HIP-HOP SUMMIT DURING NBA ALL-STAR WEEKEND

LA Summit To Focus on Youth Voter Registration and Empowerment

NEW YORK, N.Y. – FEBRUARY 9, 2004 – Damon Dash, Roc-A-Fella CEO and co-Chair of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President/CEO of HSAN will convene the Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit on February 14th, 2004, 11am-2pm, at the University of Southern California’s (USC) Bovard Auditorium. This event takes place during NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles and will draw some of the top moguls, icons and artists of hip-hop to participate in the Summit. The Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit’s theme will be “Taking Back Responsibility: Youth Voter Registration and Empowerment”. Admission to the LA Hip-Hop Summit is free for those youth who register to vote. The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network’s voter registration initiative is called “Hip-Hop Team Vote.” For pre-registering for the LA Summit or for general information on registering to vote, go to www.hsan.org.


The Los Angeles Summit is being sponsored by The Black Student Assembly (BSA) of USC, the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), the African American Voter REP Project and Assemblyman Mark Ridley-Thomas. The corporate sponsor of this event is Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Radio One’s KKBT-FM 100.3 The Beat is the radio partner.



The Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit is expected to attract hip-hop stars from Los Angeles and across the country, including Roc-A-Fella recording artists Kanye West, the Diplomats and the Young Gunz, Elektra recording artists Fabolous, Tweet and Tamia, and L.A. HSAN board member Michael Concepcion. Also participating will be NBA players, along with NFL and WWE professionals.



Damon Dash asserted, “The hip-hop community is so powerful and, while some of us have been very successful entrepreneurs, it’s just as important to acknowledge that we’re part of a larger community and that we can make a difference by doing our part to empower kids to change the world. Voting is an important step toward that. And, Russell has set an example; I’m following his lead.”



Dr. Chavis further emphasized, “Young people are standing up all over America to participate in the political process. The Los Angeles Hip-Hop Summit will further stimulate youth voter registration toward our goal of registering and encouraging millions of youth to vote.”


The Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), the largest non-profit, non-partisan national coalition of hip-hop artists and recording industry executives, was founded in 2001 by Russell Simmons. The organization is dedicated to harnessing the cultural relevance of hip-hop music while serving as a catalyst for education advocacy and other societal concerns fundamental to the well being of “at-risk” youth throughout the United States.