NEW YORK, NY (websterhall.com) - LIFEbeat's 'Hearts & Voices' Benefit Concert Series, the party with a purpose, announces its first reggae HIV/AIDS awareness concert. On July 18, 2006, E.A.R.S. Entertainment Group and Power 105.1 FM will team up with LIFEbeat: The
Music Industry Fights AIDS to present 'REGGAE GOLD LIVE 2006 SUMMER JUMPOFF,' the sixth Hearts & Voices AIDS Benefit Concert Series, featuring performances from some of reggae's hottest stars including Beenie Man, Wayne Wonder, TOK,
Sasha and Kulcha Don, as well as a special performance by Foxy Brown. The concert will take place at New York's Webster Hall, located at 125 East 11th Street between 3re & 4th Avenues.
Doors open at 9pm. The event is produced by
Tonya Lewis and J.P. Taylor for E.A.R.S. Entertainment Group. Media sponsors include BET, Vibe magazine,
Music Choice and Power 105.1 radio station. Tickets are $25 General Admission and $50 VIP and are available at the Webster Hall box office (212) 353-1600 or online www.websterhall.com or through TICKETWEB at www.ticketweb.com or by calling 866 768-7619. Tickets can also be purchased at the LIFEbeat offices at 212-459-2580 or the E.A.R.S. offices at 718-385-0077.
For the first time, reggae stars will join together to address the subject of HIV/AIDS and to help bring awareness into their communities. HIV/AIDS prevention education is a critical topic for the Caribbean community. Jamaica has the third-largest population living with HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean, after Haiti and the Dominican Republic. As of 2004, there were over 22,000 reported cases of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica, with the National HIV/STD Prevention and Control Programme citing a total of 578 new AIDS cases reported in Jamaica from January to June of that year. Adolescent females ages 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 had two and three times the risk of HIV infection, respectively, than boys of the same age group. While some 86 percent of adolescents know about HIV/AIDS, only 11 percent of young men ages 15 to 19 perceived themselves to be at personal risk. The statistics further indicate that the number of newly reported AIDS cases in adolescent girls in the age group 15-24 years was three times higher than boys of the same age group, and the rate of new HIV infection in women in the age group 20-24 is increasing steadily more than men in the same age group, as well.
Beenie Man stated, 'HIV/AIDS is a serious threat to the black and West Indian communities, and hip-hop and reggae is the voice that speaks to and for our community. I'm proud to lend my voice to fighting the spread of AIDS through the LIFEbeat concert.'
'This is an event whose time has come,' cited LIFEbeat Executive Director, John Cannelli. 'The growth of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean community warrants everyone coming together to do their part in helping to educate young people about how to protect themselves. Every life is precious, and we are grateful to all of the artists participating in 'Reggae Gold.' They are taking a stand and using their influence to help make a difference in this extremely important fight taking place right in their own neighborhoods. '
Foxy Brown emphasized, ' I feel that this is a very important issue, not only in the inner cities where I'm from, but across the entire world. I am just happy that I can be a part of something like this and bring awareness to my fans.'
Kulcha Don said, 'I am honored to use my talents performing at the LIFEbeat event to raise awareness for the prevention of HIV/Aids in youth. This is a world-wide epidemic and anything that I could do to provide support and knowledge, I openly embrace. I have supported LIFEbeat over the past few years and will continue to support them for the rest of my life.'
Tonya Lewis of E.A.R.S. Entertainment and producer of the event said, 'We are extremely excited and fortunate to be the producers of this event. We have an excellent opportunity to educate and create change in the Caribbean community about this dreadful disease. We are grateful to all the artists for choosing to take a stand and address this issue. This is going to be a monumental event in the fight against AIDS.'
