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Jacki-O will be a special guest author during the 1st "Hiphop & Books" Rally that will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2008 in Jackson, MS. She is pictured in the center with students of Crystal Springs High School in March 2008.

The event will kickoff the "Hiphop & Books" tour that will crisscross the nation during the year, with the hope of encouraging lovers of hiphop to spread the addiction of staying in school and literacy.

visit www.hiphopandbooks.com

Conversations Book Club and TRU Publishing, in connection with their literary partners*, are pleased to announce the 1st "Hiphop & Books" Youth Rally of Mississippi! This will take place on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at the Smith Park in Downtown Jackson beginning at 1p.m. and ending at 5p.m.

The purpose of the event is to unite and entertain lovers of hiphop music with a family-friendly show as well as bring attention to the problems of illiteracy and school dropouts.

Conversations believes that by showing that the hiphop community is about more than just the glitz and glamour portrayed through television and music that it can serve as a wakeup call for young people to still strive for the best possible life they can get through a good education and positive role models.

The days events will feature space jumps for the kids provided by Inflatable Kingdom, concession-style food and performances by Mississippi's own Ondrea Nicole, Trill, G-Money(seen above), Britt, Jacktown Slim and Jack Squad. Our special guest for the rally is Lil Half Ounce aka HollywoodHalf whose album SMALL TOWN HYPE features Fiend, C-Murder, Lil Cali, Pearlie Mac, Savage of Trill Ent and more.

To encourage school participation, Conversations & TRU are presenting this contest: The school that has the most students that attend the rally will receive $1,000 in brand new books for their school library donated by Conversations & TRU! (In 2007, Conversations & The Jackson Advocate donated over $500.00 in brand new books to the Shady Creek Trailer Park in South Jackson.) At the close of the event there will also be a historic, special announcement made that you want to be present to hear!

Admission is free, however, vendors including Krooked Ledda Clothing and others will be on hand with merchandise. For more information, contact Robin Gardner at 601.664.8805, Stanley Clark at 601.559.3463 or Stephanie Mitchell at 601.500.8950. Also visit http://www.hiphopandbooks.com.

*This event is brought to you in part by Shadow Play Entertainment, For The People Productions, S. M. Productions, C. O. D. Records, Off Da Chain Entertainment and Jaia Productions

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This sounds like an event ANYTOWN, USA could use!

Micheal Eric Dyson poses a question to his website readers: Is Hip-Hop good or bad for the culture at large? Here are excerpts from four of the interesting comments.

Brent, Louisville, KY

“Breakin', graf-writing, dj-ing, rapping; these things in and of themselves are not bad. I come from a church culture that is now taking up a crusade which says that ALL Hip-Hop is bad and furthermore, that Hip-Hop culture itself is inherently evil and Anti-Christ. I do not believe that. The Bible says that God created every good and perfect thing. Breakin', graf-writing, dj-ing, rapping; these were all created by God. But when these tools are used to glorify money and street life, to degrade women, and visually molest our children, this is when it becomes an evil and vile work.” READ MORE...

Melvin, Chicago, Illinois

“Those cats from the South are modern day minstrels. They need to be silenced. Hell, if nothing else they should be censured. Them cats don't understand the immense power they have. Today's rappers shape the perception of the world. I'm afraid they are woefully under qualified for such a job. As a fan, I'm calling for an end to all Chiken George Southern rap.” READ MORE...