NEW YORK (Hip-Hop Summit Action Network) - Sheryl Crow, Jay-Z, and
Missy Elliott are just some of the many artists who have come together in a new group called Musicians United To Win Without War.
Russell Simmons and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, president of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, as well as Roseanne Cash, Lou Reed, and David Byrne were on hand at a press conference at the Warwick Hotel in midtown Manhattan on Thursday (February 27) to announce the formation of the group.
The group comprises musical artists from numerous genres, and it will join a coalition of 32 organizations such as the National Council Of Churches, MoveOn.org, the NAACP, NOW, the Sierra Club, and Artists United To Win Without War, all of which support tough United Nations inspections to disarm Saddam Hussein instead of an invasion and occupation of Iraq.
During the press conference, Simmons said that although the artists were just beginning to mobilize, they could have a big impact. "Everybody from gangsta rappers like 50 Cent to Puffy to Jay-Z, all these guys we know what they can do," Simmons said. "I mean, Puffy is certainly more well-liked and well-known across the world than George Bush. Jay-Z is much more liked and well-known across the world than Colin Powell, so we know they have big voices and we know people pay attention. And young people certainly pay attention, and they have been the ones that have been silent. But we're just going to work now and I promise you that they're going to wake up."
Crow has been very outspoken about her feelings about a potential war with Iraq. She wore a diamond-studded peace sign necklace, and had the words "NO WAR" on her guitar strap during her Grammy performance earlier in the week.
"I think everybody knows what the issue is," Crow said backstage at the Grammys. "Nobody wants to rush into a war. Everybody thinks we should be talking about peace--that is the objective--and it doesn't feel good when we get called a focus group. We're bigger than that."
Some of the other artists involved in the coalition include Dave Matthews, Tweet, Busta Rhymes, Natalie Imbruglia, Fat Joe, Eric Benet, Kandi Burruss, Busta Rhymes, Blu Cantrell, Capone-N-Noreaga, Floetry, Jagged Edge, K-Ci, JoJo, Lil' Mo, Nas, OutKast, Musiq, Raphael Saadiq, and Mos Def.-- Chiam Chad Dougatz, Jason Gelman, and Yves Erwin Salomon, New York
