Akon, Common & Others Perform For Kids In L.A. Who Did Community Service
Published: Wednesday - June 25, 2008
Words by Jay Casteel
Akon on stage at BMRC's 2008 Los Angeles stop (Photo: BallerStatus.com / Buck Casteel)
Boost Mobile's RockCorps (BMRC) concert hit Los Angeles last Friday (June 20), bringing with it a ton of acts, who all did their part to give back to kids who volunteered for tickets.
For those not familiar with RockCrops, the organization takes to cities across the country a few times a year, and this time it was Los Angeles. They organize a huge concert with several a-list acts, and the only way you can gain entrance into the shows is to perform community service. To earn one ticket, each individual has to volunteer four hours of community service at a BMRC project.
At Friday's concert, the acts who gave kids a stage show for their hard work were Common, Three 6 Mafia, Flyleaf, Puddle of Mudd, and headliner Akon and his Konvict Muzik roster including Kardinal Offishall and Colby O'Donis.
All of the artists that performed were just as excited to be a part of the event, as the kids were to attend.
"It's an incredible opportunity to be able to give back," Akon told BallerStatus.com backstage. "I love the fact that the kids actually took the time to work together. It's been incredible, so I love it."
"It's a really good cause. When they told me what the whole demonstration was with RockCorps, what they do, I was like 'Aw man, that's good.' It feels good to rock in L.A. too," added Common.
This year's program started in May with the "BMRC Green Kickoff" weekend and through June 20, BMRC executed approximately 35 additional volunteer projects in the Los Angeles area.
In an effort to restore Los Angeles' natural habitat, BMRC worked in collaboration with several "green" organizations for environmentally based projects, where volunteer efforts included planting trees, wetland restoration near the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers, cleaning-up beaches and community gardens and rebuilding local parks.
"Everybody went out and did community service and did their part, and now they're here to rock with us," rockers Puddle Of Mudd said shortly before hitting the stage.
Other celebs showed up as well, including Lil Eazy-E and MTV "The Hills" stars Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt.
"We're here because we love all the music acts that are coming," Heidi told BallerStatus.com. "It's really important to be involved in something ... everybody here has done at least four hours of community service. It's really important to be active in your community and help out. Music is just a great cause."
The event was hosted by comedian/actor Tracy Morgan, who also felt good about helping out with such a positive organization.
"Not often in everyone's life do they get to be a part of something like this," Tracy said. "Just to meet people and actually meet people that are actually willing to give something back, it feels awesome to me. It's self explanatory. Everybody's willing to take, especially in the world we live in now, giving is special to me."
Kids who volunteered their time not only received a ticket to the concert, but also got an award package containing a Boost Mobile RockCorps T-shirt, hat, backpack, a concert DVD, and more.
Past BMRC events featured performances by the likes of The Game, Young Jeezy, Ludacris, Eve, Lil Wayne and many more.
So far the 2008 tour has only been Los Angeles, but others will be announced at later dates. A source at the event revealed to us that BMRC will head to the UK later this year, but we were unable to get any further details regarding the upcoming events.
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