HIP-HOP HOORAY!

Russell Simmons’ upcoming Hip-Hop Summit will play host to a spectrum of rap advocates, music industry execs and community leaders, with the hopes of improving the state of hip-hop music and culture. The conference, to be held June 12-13 in New York City, will face major issues plaguing the genre, including the entertainment industry’s social, political and lyrical responsibilities; the function of A&R; rapper profiling; and squashing beefs between peeps (that’s Leighbonics for conflict resolution).

In addition to Simmons, Minister Louis Farrakhan, NAACP President Kwesi Mfume, RIAA President Hilary Rosen, Sean "P. Diddy" Combs, Dr. Dre, Interscope bigwig Steve Stoute and Loud Records chief Steve Rifkin will be in attendance, facilitating thought-provoking sessions that hope to initiate positive, proactive reforms in the industry. Either that or create yet another marketing opportunity to floss the latest urban gear.

Though expected to heal some wounds of the urban subculture, HITS rap ruler Ricky Leigh’s seminar, "Studio Hoochie: Muse Or Nuisance," has unfortunately been deleted from the scheduled events, since co-moderator Rev. Al Sharpton is on lockdown in Puerto Rico. Could this be yet another sabotage tactic of The Man? Word up.