By L.D.Williams Jr.

Jim Jones has been a very busy man lately. Toward the end of 2007, Jones announced that he signed a multimillionaire joint venture deal with Sony. The deal is monumental for several reasons. The deal symbolizes that Jim Jones is not only a bankable artist but a good businessman. "I got that joint venture, that 50/50 split" said Jones to Miss Info. With the music industry in a state of recession it is safe to say that joint venture deals will be very hard to come by.

            Jim Jones' relentless hustle did not stop with nabbing a new contract. He also announced plans to release a collaborative project with Yonkers MC Styles P. He also retouched his mixtape Harlem's American Gangster and released it for commercial release at the top of 2008. He has done that amid dissention in the Diplomats crew a group he co founded.

            The cyclical highs and lows are not enough to stop the capo from being on the move and more importantly doing things in the community. Jim Jones will serve as a panelist for the Third Annual Hip Hop and Higher Education Symposium "HIV/AIDS and the Hip Hop Generation". Howard University will serve as host for this event.

            The conference will be sponsored by Howard University's African American Studies Department and the goal of the conference is to raise awareness about HIV and AIDS, and its dangerous increase amongst African American males and females.

            The conference's primary goal is to raise awareness but the Chair of the Symposium, Joshua Kondwami Wright, MA, said "It will also impart helpful knowledge, for those living with the disease, to lead a healthy life".

            Jim Jones will not be the only one in the hip hop community that will make their presence felt at the conference other people that are slated to appear include: Melyssa Ford and Dr. Benjamin Chavis will serve as keynote speakers. Washington Redskins running back Clinton Portis is also scheduled to appear.

            In addition to taking a stand to fight for AIDS Jim Jones was a reward recipient at the fifth annual Hip Hop Summit Awards last month. Jones was among those honored for outstanding contributions in the community.

            Hip Hop news seems to be dominated by rumors, beef, jail sentences and any other type of nonsense. The media is not totally at fault because the job of a media practitioner is to report the news and when these things happen and it appears in some form of media it is indeed someone doing their job by reporting the facts. However while the world is far from a perfect place especially in the world of hip hop the hip hop world does not rotate solely on an axis of he said/she said, confrontation and legal tussles.

There is a flipside to the proverbial coin. There is a  side that stresses community ownership, advancement and involvement. It is the job of a media practitioner to vehemently report this side of the coin with the same professionalism, diligence and persistence.   

With the help of Jim Jones and several other personalities involved with worthy causes in Washington D.C., across the country and around the world today is a good on the job!

 The Third Annual Hip-Hop and Higher Education Symposium will take place at the Blackburn Center Ballroom located at Howard University from 12 p.m.-5 p.m. on March 27, 2008! That is right here in Washington D.C.

It is important to attend this event if you can because AIDS awareness is a very serious issue. It is important to be positive that you are negative; lack of knowledge can kill you!