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 Mopreme Shakur, widely known as a member of Tupac's Thug Life group in the 90s, has joined Youssou N'Dour, Nas, Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Duncan Sheik to support open source training for health workers in Africa, including those on the frontlines of the battle against malaria.
The aforementioned artists teamed up with global non-profit IntraHealth International in releasing a special remix in honor of World Malaria Day, via the organization's website.
Mopreme Shakur, brother of the late Tupac Shakur, created the remix of Youssou N'Dour's song "Wake Up -- It's Africa Calling" to draw attention to the need for open source training, collaboration and development for health workers across Africa. Benu Mabhena, the African actress who played the lead female role in the movie "Blood Diamond" joins Shakur on the track singing in her native Zulu.
The song is available for free download at IntraHealth.org/Open for a limited time.
Incorporating the concepts behind the IntraHealth OPEN initiative, Shakur sings about health and technology in what could easily be called the first ever theme song for open source technology and health in the developing world.
"New prosthetics and medicine, new hospital clinics, open source technology -- free to people -- go get it, staying mobile -- we're global -- united shake the game, wake up to new ideas to reduce the pain," sings Shakur in a particularly poignant verse.
"I was so moved when I heard about this project," explained the rapper. "I want to use my music to make a difference and I have been inspired by IntraHealth and by Youssou N'Dour's commitment to change the way people think about health, technology and the developing world."
IntraHealth and Youssou N'Dour have recently partnered with Indaba Music to launch a global remix contest to raise funds and visibility for the IntraHealth OPEN initiative. The same "Wake Up" tracks used by celebrity artists are now being made available to the global music community, allowing fans and supporters to rework the song. Judges for the contest include Youssou N'Dour, David Bither of Nonesuch Records and OPEN Remix artists Toubab Krewe. The winner of the Indaba Music Remix contest will be announced at a special OPEN ceremony at the Global Health Council in Washington D.C. on May 26th.
Rolling through the fall, free downloads of the songs will be available with a suggested donation through several distributions partners including Rhapsody, iLike, Amazon MP3, and through IntraHealth's website IntraHealth.org/Open.
Malaria is the number one killer of African children, and more is needed for health workers to strengthen worldwide efforts to prevent and treat the deadly disease. IntraHealth currently works to prevent malaria cases and reduce malaria deaths among children and pregnant women in Senegal, Rwanda and Mali. Programs focus on extending improved treatment options into communities and distributing bednets.
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