Rapper T.I.

After his call, T.I. raised more than $265,000 during the broadcast, which included contributions from Jermaine Dupri, Dallas Austin, and WMG president Kevin Liles.

The hip-hop community has always been seen as a selfish subculture that only cares about itself and what it will take to get that next wad of loot in their pocket. But after Katrina hit and the rescue and relief efforts were slow-going, a slew of artists either donated big chunks of money, played benefits or participated in telethons to raise more money to help the relief efforts.

Two of hip-hop’s biggest stars, P. Diddy and Jay-Z, came together to give $1 million to the Red Cross. P. Diddy told MTV that we, as people of color, have to take care of ourselves instead of depending on the government to do it.

"We can't wait around for the government to help. We're not waiting, we're taking action," Diddy said. "We can find money to bomb people overseas, but not to help our brothers and sisters?"

"This event has devastated hundreds of thousands of people. We, as African American men and leaders of our community felt it was a necessity to join forces and help. Diddy and I are committed to supporting our people in whichever way we can," Jay-Z added.

Of course, the first artists to respond to the call were those directly affected by the storm. Rapper Master P and his No Limit family are based in New Orleans, as is rapper Juvenile, who said he lost his home in the storm. Both rappers are leading relief efforts and called for their fans to donate what they can to the Red Cross and other organizations trying to support those affected by the hurricane.

"We are contributing our own money toward items such as food, clothes and shoes and we are also reaching out to corporations for donations," Master P told Allhiphop.com. "We’re reaching out to companies for product donations for mothers, like Pampers and Gerber baby food, as well as soliciting donations of items helpful to ladies and girls."

"Our city of New Orleans and several other surrounding cities are experiencing total devastation," Juvenile said in a statement. "People have lost their homes, loved ones and all of their belongings; many of our folks in New Orleans don't have much to begin with and have now lost everything.

"Thousands of people have nobody to reach out to for support. Please keep our city, its people and our families in your prayers and please donate to the Red Cross."

On the Mississippi side of things, rapper David Banner has been the most vocal about the response by local and national authorities. Representing cities like Biloxi, Pass Christian, Gulf Port, and Long Beach, Banner says there’s a disparity between rich and poor when it comes to the relief efforts.

"I think Hurricane Katrina has exposed America for what it is," Banner said in an editorial on SOHH.com. "I think it's bigger than Black and White. I think it has a lot more to do with rich and poor. We've always known that America is a racially driven country. We front like its all good, but we know the levels of racism that are in America. I think this is more than just pulling the race card. It shows that America doesn't give a damn about people in the hood, period."

Banner and his Heal the Hood organization partnered with Radio One, Clear Channel, Cox Radio, and Infinity Broadcasting and held a benefit show at Atlanta’s Philips Center on Sept. 17. Nelly, T.I., 112, 8-Ball & MJG, Big Gipp and a host of others performed in order to raise funds for relief efforts. Right after the show, Banner headed up to New York to perform at another benefit show with Dave Chapelle, Talib Kweli, dead prez, Q-Tip, Memphis Bleek and other artists.

The biggest news coming from the hip-hop world during this tragedy, however, is when rapper Kanye West spoke out against President Bush and the way the media was covering the events as they unfolded. Just a week after appearing on the cover of Time Magazine, West went on the air as part of NBC’s Hurricane Relief Concert on Sept. 2. Alongside actor Mike Myers, West went off-script and spoke from the heart. He ended his comments with "George Bush doesn’t care about Black people," which sent shockwaves throughout the nation. While some media-types predicted a Dixie Chick type of backlash, the hip-hop community stood behind West and most of the Black community joined him as well.

Actor Mike Myers and Rapper Kanye West

"I support the personal opinions made by my friend Kanye West," R&B artist Usher said in a statement. "If it wasn't for his comments, there would not be an open dialogue about the underserved people in the Gulf Region."

Apparently a lot of people have been supporting West because his recently released album, Late Registration, was #1 on the Billboard charts for two weeks straight and sold over 900,000 copies in its first week.

The Denver hip-hop community also came together with the Colorado Hip-hop Coalition (www.coloradohiphop.org) holding two benefit shows at Kilimanjaro Sports Bar in Aurora on Sept. 22 and at Polly Esther’s in Denver on Sept. 28 called ‘Kickin’ Katrina to the Curb’. Elsewhere in Denver, hip-hop radio shows Basementalism on 1190 AM and Eclipse on 88.5 FM were coming together to raise funds through their shows at press time.

When tragedy strikes, especially when it comes to people of color, the hip-hop community is there in full support. As dead prez would say, "this is bigger than hip-hop."

Editor’s note: Quibian Salazar-Moreno is a freelance writer living in Denver. He can be reached through his Web site: www.qsviews.com.