FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASECONTACT: Jody L. Miller
Ellen Zoe Golden
JLM PR, Inc.
(212) 431-5227 [email protected] [email protected] HIP-HOP TEAM VOTE ROLLS INTO CRUCIAL KEY STATE OF
MISSOURI
RUSSELL SIMMONS AND THE HIP-HOP SUMMIT ACTION NETWORK CONVENE ST LOUIS HIP-HOP SUMMIT
NELLY, JADAKISS, REVEREND RUN, DOUG E. FRESH,
FARNSWORTH BENTLEY, ANTHONY HAMILTON, FREE, LOON, REMY MARTIN AND LAYZIE BONE TO HEADLINE THE EVENT
NEW YORK, N.Y. – AUGUST 12, 2004 – Thousands of young people from 18-35 are registering to vote throughout the state of Missouri in preparation for the St Louis Hip-Hop Summit, scheduled for August 20, 2004, 12-4pm, at the America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri. This will mark the 25th Hip-Hop Summit of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN), a non-partisan, non-profit national coalition of hip-hop artists, record industry executives and community activists. The St. Louis Hip-Hop Summit is the lead off event of the Missouri Black Expo, also being held at the America’s Center. “Hip-Hop Team Vote” is the national youth voter registration and Get Out The Vote (GOTV) initiative of HSAN. www.hsan.org
Headlining the St. Louis Hip-Hop Summit will be Nelly, Jadakiss, Reverend Run, Doug E. Fresh, Anthony Hamilton, Farnsworth Bentley, Free from BET’s “106 & Park”, Loon, Remy Martin and Layzie Bone.
The theme of the St. Louis Hip-Hop Summit is youth empowerment and how participating in the political process is a part of empowering oneself.
“St. Louis, as the gateway city of the Midwest, will be the site of one of the most important Hip-Hop Summits,” emphasized HSAN Chairman Russell Simmons.
“Millions of young people throughout America are preparing to exercise not only their rights but their responsibilities to vote in a manner that should ultimately help end poverty and ignorance.”
The corporate sponsors of the St. Louis Hip-Hop Summit are Anheuser-Busch, Inc., PlayStation 2, America Coming Together (ACT), Missouri Black Expo and Clear Channel Radio’s KATZ 100.3FM The Beat.
PlayStation 2 has created the first ever hip-hop poll called the PlayStation 2 Pulse to gauge what issues are most important to the young people who attend each Hip-Hop Summit. The top issues attendees will take into consideration during this year’s election are: 1. Education 2. Economy 3. Criminal Justice.
“It’s evident to me that both parties, Republican and Democrat, need to begin to take notice of this overwhelming swell of young people who’ve never visited the polls and who will be voting this November,” asserted HSAN Vice President, Jeff Johnson. “The candidates who are able to speak to the issues of the hip-hop community are the candidates who will be able to galvanize this army of young people across the country.”
“St. Louis, in particular, has grown to be a major hub of hip-hop, given the creativity and genius of Nelly and the St. Lunatics, J-Kwon, Chingy and others,” concluded Dr. Benjamin Chavis, President of HSAN. “We are grateful to be able to utilize hip-hop talent to inspire young people to register to vote and to go out to the polls in record numbers.”
