Raekwon Gives Back to Hurricane Sandy Victims of Staten Island

Raekwon is reaching out and making a difference in the lives of Hurricane Sandy victims affected in Staten Island. The Chef raised awareness by holding a fundraiser at Club Jaguars 3 in Brooklyn last Thursday night (December 13). The benefit generated money for the residents of Staten Island who lost everything as a result of the natural disaster. Most people often refer to Staten Island as the "forgotten borough," but Rae says he can't sit back and do nothing for those who were directly affected by the devastation of the storm.

"My city [Staten Island] got hit pretty hard, and not only my city, but other parts of New York period. When it affected Staten Island, it affected me even more because that's where I am from. And it's so crazy that we got hit the hardest. So my heart and my mind is telling me, 'Yo, you can do something,' you know what I mean? I just had to wait until I was able to do it in a right way and create something and say, 'Listen I'm giving back.'"

Ghostface Killah joined Rae on stage to help spread the word to the fans in the audience, as well as support his brother for the worthy cause. In fact, several artists jumped on Twitter to show a tremendous amount of love to Rae for his efforts to raise funds and awareness. Some of the more famous tweets came from Busta Rhymes, Angela Yee, Billy Danze, 2 Chainz, Peter Rosenberg and Fat Joe.

Rae expressed that President Obama's visit to S.I. brought things to a higher plateau. He added, "I don't know the circumstances of what it was, I just know that Obama did come, the President rather, came to Staten Island when he had an opportunity and took a look. And that to me; that eliminates everything else. That means that we was recognized on the most highest scale for the President to come and check it out. So that meant a lot to me."

The Chef says he went to Staten Island to survey the damage for himself and was deeply affected by it. He wanted to give back in his own special way and didn't want to simply provide his money to a charity. "It would have been easy to give money to the Red Cross but that ain't what it's about to me. So I wanted to really be more hands on and really take a look inside."

Proceeds from last night's event will go to the Staten Island families and the victims of Hurricane Sandy. "If you love people like I love people and you realize how many people have helped my life, you would consider doing stuff like this. It's about being hands on. It's more than just the money, it's the opportunity to touch people and talk to them and get in their face and say, 'Yo I feel this or yo I can help, or yo I can't help.' It's being a real person." —Chanel Clark (@ChanellyJelly)