“Oh Africa” is a song performed by the artist Akon featuring Keri Hilson and the Soweto Gospel Choir. The song is a charity single and was released to raise funds for Akon’s charity ‘Konfidence’ to aid underprivileged children in Africa. The song was released as a digital download on 52nd Grammy Awards night, January 31, 2010, along with the video. Young singers from many countries are also featured on the single. The footballers Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, Kaká, Fernando Torres, Lionel Messi, Frank Lampard, Michael Ballack and Andrei Arshavin make cameo appearances in the music video.
The Stop the Violence Movement was begun by rapper KRS-One in 1987 in response to violence in the hip hop and African American communities.
In 1987, during a concert by Boogie Down Productions and Public Enemy, a young fan was killed in a fight. The killing occurred shortly after Scott La Rock, a founding member of Boogie Down Productions, was killed in a shooting. KRS-One responded to these deaths by forming the Stop the Violence Movement to advance a vision of hip hop that would restore what he called hip hop’s original principles to the music industry. Composed of some of the biggest stars in contemporary East Coast hip hop, the movement released a single, “Self Destruction”, in 1988, with all proceeds going to the National Urban League. A music video was created, and a VHS cassette entitled Overcoming Self-Destruction—the Making of the Self-Destruction Video was also released.
“Self-Destruction” was produced by KRS-One and D-Nice of Boogie Down Productions (Hank Shocklee of the Bomb Squad is credited as an associate producer), and featured the following:
Boogie Down Productions (KRS-One, D-Nice & Ms. Melodie), Stetsasonic , Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Doug E. Fresh, Just-Ice, Heavy D, Public Enemy (Chuck D & Flavor Flav)
Lift Every Voice And Sing, often referred to as the “Black American National Anthem”— is a song written as a poem by James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938) in 1899 and set to music by his brother John Rosamond Johnson (1873–1954) in 1905. It is one of the authorized hymns in the Episcopal hymnal.
In 1990, singer Melba Moore released a modern rendition of the song, which she recorded along with others including R&B artists Stephanie Mills, Anita Baker, Dionne Warwick, Bobby Brown, Stevie Wonder, Jeffrey Osborne, and Howard Hewett; and gospel artists BeBe & CeCe Winans, Take 6, and The Clark Sisters, after which, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” was entered into the Congressional Record by Del. Walter Fauntroy (D–DC).