The hip-hop community has joined relief efforts in support of Haiti in light of a shocking earthquake on January 12, 2010 that has left its capital, Port-au-Prince, in disarray. These efforts are led by Grammy award winning rapper and producer Wyclef Jean, founder of the Yele Haiti Foundation.

A fellow Haitian and former Fugees member, Wyclef has been championing help for his home country since the start of his career and in 2005 he created Yele Haiti helping to provide thousands of scholarships for youth affected by Hurricane Jeanne.

Wyclef reached out to CNN immediately after the 7.0 earthquake in search of Haitian rapper Jimmy O. Unfortunately Jimmy O was crushed by rubble caused by the earthquake. He was a member of Yele Haiti and leaves behind a wife and three children. "His loss will be tremendous in Haiti," said his agent, Robert Dominique, to CNN.

Yele Haiti has been accepting donations at www.Yele.org, and an automatic $5 donation can be made by texting "Yele" to 501501. The organization announced on Friday, January 15 that Yele Haiti has already raised $2 million through text-message donations.

"I know how much passion and love [Wyclef] has for his country and that's why he does so much for Haiti in general," Akon told MTV news. "And I can understand it so I feel his pain in all aspects because if it happened in Senegal, I'd be in the same position. So that's why we do whatever we can and assist him in whatever it is, including him and everyone else, they all need help. I think we should put our hands in that same pot and try to find a way to stir that soup [together]."

Wyclef co-hosted alongside George Clooney and CNN's Anderson Cooper the Hope for Haiti Now telethon in a continued effort to raise money on Friday January 22. All donations supported Oxfam America, Partners in Health, Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Foundation. Over $58 million was raised by the show.

Rapper Rick Ross hosted a Blood Drive on January 18 in Pembroke Pines just outside Miami, Florida. Rick Ross's charities plan to join efforts with the Community Blood Centers and 24 Hour Fitness to collect blood to send to those who have been affected in Haiti.

Bun B, the surviving half of the southern hip-hop duo, UGK, also hosted "Houston for Haiti": a rap concert to raise funds in effort to help those in need as well. All proceeds went to www.Care.org, an organization fighting against poverty. Slim Thug, ESG, Lil O, Just Brittany, Corey Mo, Trae the Truth, Candi Redd, The Party Boyz and many more performed while athletes like the Tennessee Titan's Vince Young made an appearance.

Endigee Clothing has created a limited edition "Free Haiti" t-shirt where $5 from every purchase goes to the Yele Foundation. And Duck Down Records will also donate the proceeds from their iTunes catalog sales to the Yele Foundation to assist in the relief effort for Haiti.

Rap entrepreneur Russell Simmons and singer Alicia Keys have been calling upon the hip-hop community to help the millions of people affected by this earthquake. "We must do all that we can as individuals and collectively to help save the lives of our brothers and sisters in Haiti," Simmons stated. "We know Haiti will need increased attention and resources from the international community to help it recover from this disaster, so let us ensure that our country does right. My thoughts and prayers are with the Haitian people whose suffering I can only imagine, and the Haitian Americans who have lost their loved ones."

The International Red Cross stated that three million people have been affected by the quake. A number of public figures died in the earthquake, including government officials, clergy members, musicians, foreign civilians and military personnel working with the United Nations. Other nations such as the U.S., China and Cuba have been sending humanitarian relief as of January 17. As the death toll continues to increase, the hip-hop community needs to respond with a consistent effort to help many of the broken families, injured civilians and hungry children.


Words by. Raynae Dumpfrey