Hip Hop Ezine Offers Scholarship

(New Orleans, LA – October 3rd, 2006) LatinRapper.com, the most comprehensive Latin Hip Hop and Reggaeton music site online, has recently established an annual Hip Hop scholarship. Announced during National Hispanic Heritage Month (Sep. 15 - Oct 15), the $500 scholarship is eligible to Latino undergraduate students who submit an essay through the website.

Since 2004, Latin Rapper has provided news on Latino rap artists, as well as exclusive interviews with musicians and other Hip Hop industry figures. Previous interviews have included artists such as Cypress Hill, Pitbull and Tego Calderon, as well as industry insiders DJ Tony Touch, Gloria Velez and a wide variety of established producers, b-boys and muralists. The website, which averages over 10 million hits monthly and frequented also by non-Latino visitors, has earned its appeal amongst aspiring musicians by providing free features to artists and independent record labels. The site also provides album reviews, music event coverage, exclusive artist photos, and an array of free resources for artists new to the music industry.

Many Latino music artists build successful regional followings, yet fail to receive mainstream press attention. Latin Rapper was initially created to provide these artists with a means of reaching a broader audience. When asked of the benefits of his previous feature, Brooklyn rapper Amen explained that "Showing someone you've been recognized for your music by a third party as opposed to creating your own Myspace page is definitely a plus, and to focus on the Latino aspect of MCing is essential since we're such an underrepresented group in this genre already."

The idea of creating the scholarship stemmed from the ongoing practice of providing artists with free exposure to millions of listeners, a means of giving back to the music community. While not rivaling the dollar amount of most government-funded scholarships, the long term goal of the program is to create awareness. "As a college graduate from a low-income background, I understand how even the smallest assistance may contribute to someone's academic and professional career." stated Dante, owner of Latin Rapper. The founder of Louisiana's first Latin-American community service fraternity, Dante personally sponsored this year's scholarship and hopes to attract corporate sponsors to contribute to next year's giveaway.

For more information, please visit http://www.latinrapper.com/