In hip-hop the competition to be No. 1 can cause strife among mic combatants. Still, there have been moments of unity where the greater good calls for an act of selflessness. On this Martin Luther King Jr., holiday XXL looks at two of the greatest moments of rap unity. This is deeper than rap.

What:
The brainchild of rap legend KRS-One, Stop The Violence Movement, was an ensemble of rap all-stars that spurred inner city youth to participate in a crusade to end black on black violence. The group’s 1989 single “Self Destruction” not only provided words of wisdom for rap fans, but all the proceeds from the hit song went to various urban foundations.

Who: (In order of appearance)
KRS-One, MC DeLite (Stetasonic), Kool Moe Dee, MC Lyte, Wise and Daddy-O (Stetasonic), D-Nice, Ms. Melodie, Doug E. Fresh, Just-Ice, Heavy D, Frukwan (Stetasonic), Chuck D & Flavor Flav (Public Enemy)

Where They At Now:

KRS-One – 22 years later Knowledge Reigns Supreme is still schooling rap heads with his proactive brand of hip-hop.

Stetasonic – On his last Facebook wall post, dated July 12, 2010, one of the group's founding members MC Delite wrote, “…spread the word…we’re coming back.” Let us know if you’ve seen ’em.

Kool Moe Dee – The unflappable wordsmith has been active in acting and politics since delivering his emphatic rhyme on the 1989 jam.

MC Lyte – You can still catch the firebrand femcee in action at a show rocking her memorable hits or on the turntables spinning classic cuts for fun.

D-Nice – The rapper/DJ has since added hip-hop photographer to his resume. Peep his handy work at www.dnicegallery.com.

Ms. Melodie – The first lady of Boogie Down Productions isn’t active in rap these days.

Doug E. Fresh – The human beat box isn’t hard to find. When he’s not rocking shows throughout the world, you can catch him at his new eatery in Harlem, “Doug E.’s Fresh Chicken & Waffles.”

Just-Ice – The Facebook fan page for the Brooklyn rapper is filled with fanatics who want new material from the “Original Gangster of Hip-Hop.”

Heavy D – Follow the Heavster on Twitter @heavyd. He’s still dropping words of wisdom, in 140 characters or less of course.

Chuck D & Flava Flav – One’s currently a political activist the other may still be actively pursuing love in his life.

What:
Produced by Dr. Dre, “We’re All In The Same Gang,” is a 1990 single by a collection of left coast emcees aimed at bringing a stop to gang violence in the inner cities. Like their east coast counterparts did a year prior, The West Coast Rap All-Stars proved that hip-hop talent can come together for a greater good.

Who: (In Order of appearance)
King T, Body & Soul, Def Jef, Michel’le, Tone Loc, Above The Law, Ice T, Dr. Dre & MC Ren, Young MC, Digital Underground, MC Hammer, Eazy-E

Where They At Now:
King T – The west coast legend is currently putting in work as a member of the rap crew 1st Generation Gang. Hit him on Twitter @kingtla.

Body & Soul – Not much to report on the duo since group member Dee Barnes became famous for hosting the mid 1990’s music video show “Pump It Up.”

Def Jef - You can catch up with the rapper/producer on Myspace where he offers this sound advice “execs don’t have a clue about music.”

Michel’le – The high-pitch voiced songstress has been m.i.a. on the R&B scene for over a decade.

Tone Loc – The rapper turned actor is cutting checks these days doing voiceovers and bit roles in Hollywood.

Above The Law – The gangster rap pioneers haven’t been doing much banging on the beats since their 2009 album, Sex, Money & Music.

Ice-T – The O.G is putting in work playing a cop on the popular TV series, “Law & Order: SVU.”

Dr Dre and MC Ren – Guess which one is on the current cover of XXL magazine?

Young MC – If you want to bust a move with Young MC hit up his Facebook for a list upcoming events.

Digital Underground – Still in the studio cranking out their lighthearted raps.

MC Hammer – Just rapped up a short-lived rap beef with Jay-Z.

Eazy-E – Died in March 1995 due to complications from AIDS. R.I.P Eazy.

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