UFU HIP-HOP BENEFIT CONCERT

• What: Hip-hop show featuring Krukid, Cornbread, and Text
• When: 8 p.m. Friday, March 7
• Where: Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway Ave., Urbana
• Who: All ages welcome
• How Much: All tickets $6; free T-shirts for first 25
• Why: All proceeds go toward grassroots Ugandan organization Come Let's Dance

THE UNI STUDENT organization United For Uganda will host a hip-hop benefit concert for Come Let’s Dance on March 7 at the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, 202 S. Broadway, Urbana.

The show, which will begin at 8 p.m., will feature local rappers and breakdancers. Entrance is open to all ages; tickets cost $6. Performers will include:

• Krukid, a Ugandan native and rising international star. He is signed with Rawkus Record; his most recent album is "Afr-I-Can."
• Cornbread, whose albums include "Leftover Bread: Crumbs for Critters." He is working on "Tha Black Magic" LP with Hipgnosis.
• Text, who just released the album "Discretionless."

"All proceeds will go to Come Let’s Dance, a grassroots organization in northern Uganda helping former child soldiers recover from forced combat in the 20-yearlong civil war there and helping the surrounding war-torn community to rebuild itself," said senior Shara Esbenshade, one of UFU's organizers.

United For Uganda is a student group working to understand and spread awareness about the conflict in northern Uganda.

UFU hosted an information assembly about Come Let's Dance on Feb. 8 in Uni Gym. The group also sponsored a junior/senior lock-in Feb. 9-10 to raise money for CLD.

The March 7 concert kicks off "UFU Month." During March, UFU will sponsor two movie nights. The first will feature the documentaries "Uganda Rising" and "Diamonds in the Rough: A Ugandan Hip Hop Revolution."

The other will feature "The Constant Gardener," a 2005 movie starring Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz about a corrupt pharmaceutical corporation doing business in Kenya.

Both movie nights will be free and will take place at Uni. Dates and times will be announced.

UFU will also sponsor a personal sacrifice campaign throughout March. Anyone is welcome to participate by giving up something they like — such as a daily cup of coffee — and donating the money they would have spent on that. A prize will be given to the person who raises the most money through their sacrifice.