David West and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson to bring Hip-Hop to India

The title of this post may sound a little odd, but believe me, the rest of it won't get any less wierder.


The Music4Peace Tour will be bringing a "Hip-Hop Summit" to India in Novemeber. The big names associated with this initiative are New Orleans Hornets star David West, Dr. Arun Gandhi (grandson of THE Gandhi), and Russell Simmons, co-founder of the pioneering hip-hop label Def Jam.

Never, NEVER in my life had I thought that I would use the words David West, Russell Simmons, and Gandhi in the same sentence.

India to have "Hip-Hop" Summit in November:

“Music4Peace Tour” will organize a “Hip-Hop Summit” in India in November, according to reports.
The “Music for Peace Tour Initiative” is a coalition of organizations and non-profits who have banded together to help bring “peace and harmony” to world. It is an attempt to bring social change “by uniting people through the universal language of music”, it is claimed.


David West, American professional basketball player; Dr. Arun Gandhi, Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson; Russell Simmons, media and fashion mogul; Dr. Benjamin Chavis, Jr, civil rights leader; Craig Nobles, SMI/SwaggMedia CEO; Baroness Kimberly Moore, entrepreneur and Goodwill Ambassador; LEBO, creative artist; are reportedly associated with it.

November does happen to be the beginning of the 2010-11 NBA season, so I'm unsure how David West plans to fit 'Gandhigiri' and rap music in India around his schedule.

Anyways, I'm always an advocate for using music for social change, and involving NBA stars and a Gandhi will certainly not hurt the cause. Music4Peace has been involved with the Gandhis extensively in the form of The Gandhi Tour, "a global music festival created with the intent to arise social change..."


Meanwhile Dr. Arun Gandhi can take a page out of a Def Jam classic Run-DMC tune and teach Simmons and West how to 'Salt March This Way'.