The Greensboro Coliseum hosted the National Hip-Hop Summit Saturday, Sept. 12. The convention was free for students and local residents who wanted to gain tips on better financial and life management.

“Get Your Money Right” was the theme for the forum and featured established celebrities in the black community. Russell Simmons, Rocsi from 106th & Park, DJ Drama, Lil’ Mo, MC Lyte, mortgage guru Lynn Richardson and Dr. Benjamin Chavis, the President of Hip-Hop Summit, were all in attendance. DJ Cease Fire from 102 Jamz kept things lively on the ones and twos.

“This is an example of edutainment, entertainment and education,” said Dr. Chavis. Panelists gave their opinion on the idea first step to getting your money right. Kyle Santillian from the 102 Jamz morning show said the first step is personal responsibility and dedication.

“When you have some money, you might want to go spend it on a movie or some dinner, you have to dedicate yourself to not doing it and sticking to the cause and task at hand.”

Dr. Patrick Graham from the Urban League said if you get in tune mentally and spiritually, everything else should fall behind that. “The first step for me was thinking strategically about who I wanted to be and what I wanted to do with my life.”

Kristy Jones, the North Carolina Department of Justice Chief of Staff, said the first step is to know it starts today. “What you do today determines what you can do tomorrow.”

The event, sponsored by Walmart, was very educational. A number of topics were discussed, from credit to budgeting and paying back student loans. Many college students were in attendance.

Rocsi said she was a student not too long ago and knows all about budgeting and paying off student loans.

“For me it was always just budgeting every month no matter what, it was the importance of staying on top of the debt that I already created. It’s hard especially when you’re young because you see so many things and then we try to stay up with the trends and you feel like you have to impress other people but you really don’t.”

Simmons, well known for his entrepreneurial ventures, gave advice on starting businesses. “It takes a long time for people to jump on the bandwagon. You have to be a little bit fearless, most people go halfway down the road then they quit.”

After Dr. Chavis and MC Lyte asked general questions to the panel, the audience was allowed to ask questions. Each panelist then gave a final speech, which ended the educational two-hour hip-hop summit. For more information on future hip-hop summit events, the website is hsan.org.     

• Prince Askew