KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Hip Hop Summit Action Network and the G-Unit are among a host of Hip Hop outfits that are rallying behind Dancehall deejay Bounty Killer and non-profit organization Upliftment Jamaica in their campaign against poverty in Jamaica. On August 26th, Bounty Killer is reviving his annual celebrity charity benefit Saddle to the East, bringing over thirty of Dancehall/Reggae’s finest to the heart of the rural, poverty-stricken parish of St. Thomas for what promises Jamaica’s biggest charity staging for 2006.
Much like the annual Hip Hop Action Summit in the U.S., Saddle to the East is a national gathering of Jamaica’s most influential urban musicians and entertainment giants, united in an effort to foster community development and economic empowerment through Upliftment Jamaica. Providing health education, and other social services in addition to agricultural and workforce skills training, UJ is on a mission to transform Jamaica’s crumbling urban and rural areas into thriving globally competitive centers.
Saddle to the East 2k6 features “The Poor People’s Governor” Bounty Killer with Sizzla, Elephant Man, Vybz Kartel, Lady Saw, Capleton, Richie Spice, Busy Signal, Voicemail, Leftside & Esco, Macka Diamond, Bushman, Turbulence, Chuck Fenda, Movado, Aidonia, and nearly twenty other of Jamaica’s biggest Dancehall and Reggae talents, with a special guest appearance by Hip Hop turntablist Green Lantern. Proceeds will be donated to UJ.
“Jamaica has blessed the world with great talented musicians and artists,” offers Hip Hop mogul Russell Simmons, co-Chairman of the Hip Hop Summit Action Network. “On August 26th, Saddle to the East will feature a special blessing for Jamaica by the show of unity of Jamaican greats. Bounty Killer is to be commended.”
Simmons’s adds “It’s time the rest of the world also return blessings to Jamaica.”
Dr. Benjamin Chavis, HSAN’s co-Chairman, agrees with Simmons, adding that a gathering of “all of the great international Jamaican artists, returning home to perform on the same stage for the first time together in a show of support for a worthy cause, sets a new precedent for the nation’s entertainment industry.”
Chavis goes further to note that Upliftment Jamaica is the “largest, and most effective non-profit in Jamaica for the empowerment of the youth. Saddle to the East will give UJ a magnificent uplift.”
G-Unit’s DJ Whoo Kid, a longstanding UJ supporter states, “I have seen personally how Upliftment improves and changes the lives of kids living in Jamaica. Without them I don’t know how these kids would survive. I am always there when available.”
HSAN, G-Unit and other avid supporters from the Hip Hop community will get a taste of the concert at the Saddle to the East NY Launch Party on August 20th at the Wild Palm Nightclub in the Bronx, NY. Presented by Bounty Killer’s Alliance Promotions, UJ and NY’s Platinum Entertainment, Tri-State area fans will be treated to Bounty Killer alongside fellow Dancehall entertainers Wayne Marshall, Aidonia, Movado, and Marlon Binns, while raising money for the charity.
