GET YOUR MONEY RIGHT
Hip Hop Summit in T.O.
Russell Simmons and Co. give more than their two cents on the importance of being proactive, well-informed, and having a plan when it comes to finances.
These days hip hop culture is, more often than not, associated with the relentless pursuit of bling. The stereotype of rappers spending their advances on jewelry, cars, and cristal before houses has been fairly well-enterred by the steady barrage of media dished out by an increasingly commercial industry; ironic given that hip hop used to represent the voice of the deprived.
The impact that these messages have had on today’s youth is immeasurable. It seems that too many cats spend their hard earned cash trying to floss the latest threads yet still barely manage to pay their cell phone bills. For these reasons, it was both an exciting contrast and enlightening experience when Russell Simmons’ Hip Hop Summit Action Network brought the “Get Your Money Right” tour to Toronto.
Co-chaired by Simmons and former NAACP leader, Dr. Ben Chavis, the Hip Hop Summit Action Network was founded in 2001 with an important purpose. Realizing hip hop’s ability to influence, the organization was created to “harness the cultural relevance of hip hop music to serve as a catalyst for advocating education and other societal concerns facing at-risk youth.” After five years and twenty two summit events, the HSAN believed it was time to take their message on an international plane, with Toronto being its first stop (the second international event is slated for London, UK later this year). The group takes its mission seriously, and has found that youth are eager to get involved. “Young people want to participate in their own empowerment," Dr. Ben Chavis explains, "and our Hip Hop Summits this year are designed to raise consciousness for millions of people about this important subject.”
Preaching and educating the hip hop generation on the importance of financial empowerment, the “Get Your Money Right" event featured an impressive list of American and Canadian music industry celebrities. Russell Simmons himself along with respected artists such as MC Lyte, Hi-Tek, Chris Brown, Mr X, Kardinal Offishal, Saukrates, Melissa Ford, Remy Ma, L'il Mo, and others, gathered for a panel discussion and communicated with the audience in an unusually candid way. Sharing personal experiences and pushing honesty over hype, these personalities were able to get their message heard. And by all impressions, with over three thousand attendees between the two panel sessions, the audience was not only receptive, but also refreshed by what they got to experience.
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