New York, NY - Known for its youth targeted HIV/AIDS media campaign featuring Grammy Award winning artist Common, Viacom and the Henry J. Kaiser Foundation’s KNOW HIV/AIDS Initiative has signed on to support the 8th Annual Black August Hip Hop Benefit Concert as a media sponsor. Emmy nominated actor/Hip Hop artist Mos Def is the headliner for this year’s concert which highlights HIV/AIDS prevention awareness as its theme for shows in NYC and Tanzania, East Africa.

Hip Hop fans and Black August devotees can head to Ticket Master starting today to purchase tickets to see popular acts like Smif N Wessun, Black Moon and a growing roster of major Hip Hop artists take the stage as they help to further spread the message of HIV/AIDS prevention to young adults of the Hip Hop community here and abroad.

Concert attendees will receive HIV/AIDS resource materials and view the KNOW HIV/AIDS Initiative’s customized PSA’s throughout the show.

“With the number of HIV/AIDS cases in the US recently hitting the one million mark for the first time since the 1980’s and the overwhelmingly rapid spread of HIV/AIDS related deaths among youth in Africa, it’s imperative that we assist in reaching out to as many young people as possible, especially in the Hip Hop community to make them aware of HIV/AIDS and the necessity of prevention,” says Black August concert co-coordinator Meron Wondwosen. “We are happy to have the KNOW HIV/AIDS Initiative on board with our efforts this year.”

Black August's annual Hip Hop benefit concerts highlight human and civil rights issues dear to the Hip Hop Community such as political prisoners in the U.S., education reform, the voting rights of parolees and police brutality. One of the largest annual benefit concerts in Hip Hop, artists and personalities such as Fat Joe, Talib Kweli, David Banner, Dave Chappelle, Erykah Badu, The Roots and Common have taken the stage in recent years to move the crowd nationally and internationally at no cost for a good cause.

In addition to its New York show on Sunday, August 7, 2005 at B.B. King Blues Club in Times Square, the show will also be held in Dar es Salaam and Arusha, Tanzania in East Africa on August 18th and the 20th. Tickets for the August 7th show in NYC are on sale and may be purchased by going to www.ticketmaster.com.

About Black August:

Black August is an annual benefit concert that utilizes Hip Hop to highlight human and civil rights issues and connect members of this community throughout the Diaspora.

About KNOW HIV/AIDS:

Viacom, one of the largest media companies in the world, and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a leader in health information and research, have created an unprecedented media campaign to eradicate ignorance about HIV/AIDS. Launched on January 6, 2003, the KNOW HIV/AIDS initiative runs public service messages across the full range of Viacom's TV, radio, and outdoor properties. The initiative also encompasses AIDS-related themes woven into Viacom-produced entertainment series, a free educational guide and other resources. In the United States, the campaign is aimed at the public-at-large as well as those groups that are most at-risk for the disease, including youth, people of color, women, and men who have sex with men.