HIP-HOP SUMMIT'S SECOND SET

The second day of the Hip-Hop Summit opened this morning with speeches and messages summing up the event and its purpose. Summit attendees crowded into a reception hall at the New York Hilton to hear messages from NAACP President Kweisi Mfume, summit organizer Russell Simmons and the keynote address from Minister Louis Farrakhan.

Mfume opened the session summarizing the event into three components—social, economical and political—urging the hip-hop community to uplift the black race, maintain financial control of their artistry and be conscious of the government’s fear of the culture organizing itself.

Moreover, Simmons reiterated that the purpose of the summit was to discuss ways to make rap and hip-hop culture better. "We are not here to clean up rap like most of the media thinks," he said to approximately 500 attendees. "I’m happy with what hip-hop has done. It has brought more people together than any other cultural art form. We need to aspire to be greater."

A man of few words, Russell comments were brief, but were followed by a very spiritual, as well as racially focussed two-hour plus keynote address by Farrakhan. Farrakhan’s most prominent points were about the power of the spoken word and the dichotomy of responsibility in the hip-hop culture.

"Society wants rappers to clean up lyrics, but society doesn’t want to clean itself up." he said, adding, "Gangster lyrics are a reflection of a gangster government." His comments were met with applause and enthusiasm.

Farrakhan closed his speech discussing the importance of the summit and its follow-up. "All over the world, the youth is being moved by this community—the hip-hop community. We’re shaping the minds of the youth," he said, and urged the music industry to take a proactive stance and police itself.

A press conference is scheduled for tomorrow (6/14) to review hip-hop initiatives inspired by the summit. Joan Rivers will not be giving a fashion wrap up.