(l-r) Dr. Benjamin Chavis – President/CEO of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, David Shay – CPX VP Marketing, Mike Seiman – CPX co-founder and CEO, Russell Simmons – Chairman Rush Communications, Valeshia Butterfield – Executive Director of the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network, Rob Rasko – CPX COO, Carlton Hickman – CPX co-founder and CTO Photo by Jerritt Clark

Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) Founder Russell Simmons and CEO Dr. Benjamin Chavis have partnered with several organizations to create the Music 4 Peace Initiative and Tour. HSAN will team with the Music4Peace Foundation, Tribes of the Worlds, SwaggMedia and The Gandhi Tour to promote a global message of peace, using music, artists and global resources. Under the new partnership, Simmons and Chavis will launch an international extension of their Hip-Hop Summits, which have been active in every major city since it’s inception in 2001. A Hip-Hop Summit will take place in South Africa in conjunction with the World Cup and FIFA this June, while another Summit is being planned for India in November. Additionally, HSAN will support The Gandhi Tour’s International day of Peace in Brazil. “Hip-Hop music artists are leaders in the youth movement,” Russell Simmons told AllHipHop.com in a statement. “We’re excited about the potential these diverse organizations have in coming together to harness music as a transformative and unifying power to promote peace throughout the world.”