Hip Hop for Respect

Hip Hop for Respect is a benefit maxi-single brought together by American hip hop duo Black Star to speak out against police brutality after four New York City Police Department officers murdered West African immigrant Amadou Diallo fired 41 shots at the unarmed man. The project was released on April 25, 2000, through Rawkus Records.

Recording sessions took place at Sony Music Studios and Master Cutting Room in New York City. Production was handled by Organized Noize, Mr. Khaliyl and 88-Keys, with Devin Roberson, Mos Def and Talib Kweli serving as executive producers.

Beside Mos Def and Talib Kweli, it features an ensamble of musicians, including Kool G Rap, Rah Digga, Sporty Thievz, Shabaam Sahdeeq, Common, Pharoahe Monch, Posdnuos, Donte and Main Flow of Mood, Nine, Tiye Phoenix, Breezly Brewin, Punchline, Imani Uzuri, El-P, Mr. Len, Jah-Born, Jean Grae, John Forté, Mr. Khaliyl, Fre, J-Live, Rubix, Invincible, Wordsworth, A.L., Kofi Taha, Tame One, Jane Doe, Grafh, Shyheim, Channel Live, Wise Intelligent, Cappadonna, Crunch Lo, Rock, with cameo appearances from dead prez, Nonchalant, PMD, Ras Kass, and contributions from Doug E. Fresh and Najee, among others.

Personnel

 * Dante "Mos Def" Smith – vocals (tracks: 2, 4, 5), executive producer, sleeve notes
 * Talib Kweli Greene – vocals (tracks: 2, 3), executive producer, sleeve notes
 * Nathaniel "Kool G Rap" Wilson – vocals (track 2)
 * Rashia "Rah Digga" Fisher – vocals (track 2)
 * Kirk "King Kirk" Howell – vocals (track 2)
 * Marlon "Brando" Bryan – vocals (track 2)
 * Shaarod "Big Dubez" Ford – vocals (track 2)
 * Marcus "Shabaam Sahdeeq" Vialva – vocals (track 2)
 * Lonnie "Common" Lynn – vocals (track 2)
 * Troy "Pharoahe Monch" Jamerson – vocals (track 2)
 * Kelvin "Posdnuos" Mercer – vocals (track 2)
 * Donte Fleming – vocals (track 3)
 * Jermaine "Main Flow" Manley – vocals (track 3)
 * J. "Tiye Phoenix" Thomas – vocals (track 3)
 * Paul "Breezly Brewin" Smith – vocals (track 3)
 * Rashaan "Punchline" Truell – vocals (track 3)
 * Imani Uzuri – vocals (track 3)
 * Jaime "El-P" Meline – vocals (track 3)
 * Leonard "Mr. Len" Smythe – vocals & scratches (track 3)
 * W. "Jah-Born" Johnson – vocals (track 3)
 * Tsidi "Jean Grae" Ibrahim – vocals (track 3)
 * John Forté – vocals (track 3)
 * Acklins Khaliyl Dillon – vocals (track 3), producer (tracks: 3, 7)
 * Fre – vocals (track 4)
 * Jean-Jacques "J-Live" Cadet – vocals (track 4)
 * Rubix Chung – vocals (track 4)
 * Ilana "Invincible" Weaver – vocals (track 4)
 * Vinson "Wordsworth" Johnson – vocals (track 4)
 * Alex "A.L." Mosquera – vocals (track 4)
 * Kofi Taha – vocals (track 4), painting
 * Rahem "Tame One" Brown – vocals (track 4)
 * Latania "Jane Doe" Morris-Rossell – vocals (track 4)
 * Phillip "Grafh" Bernard – vocals (track 4)
 * Shyheim Franklin – vocals (track 5)
 * Hakim Green – vocals (track 5)
 * Vincent "Tuffy" Morgan – vocals (track 5)
 * Timothy "Wise Intelligent" Grimes – vocals (track 5)
 * Darryl "Cappadonna" Hill – vocals (track 5)
 * Kareem "Crunch Lo" Reed – vocals (track 5)
 * Jahmal "Rock" Bush – vocals (track 5)
 * Clayton "stic.man" Gavin – chorus vocals (track 5)
 * Lavonne "M-1" Alford – chorus vocals (track 5)
 * Tonya "Nonchalant" Pointer – chorus vocals (track 5)
 * Parrish "PMD" Smith – chorus vocals (track 5)
 * John "Ras Kass" Austin – chorus vocals (track 5)
 * Ewart "Evil Dee" Dewgarde – drums (track 1)
 * Owen "The Fiddler" Brown Jr. – fiddle (tracks: 1, 2, 5)
 * Douglas "Doug E. Fresh" Davis – human beatbox (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Jerome "Najee" Rasheed – flute (tracks: 2, 5)
 * David Whild – guitar (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Preston Crump – bass (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Jeff Davidson – bass & recording (tracks: 3, 4), Moog synthesizer (track 3) , guitar (track 4)
 * Katie Neilson – Rhodes electric piano (track 3)
 * Patrick "Sleepy" Brown – producer (tracks: 2, 5, 6), mixing (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Ray Murray – producer (tracks: 2, 5, 6), mixing (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Rico Wade – producer (tracks: 2, 5, 6), mixing (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Charles "88-Keys" Njapa – producer (tracks: 4, 8)
 * Nolan 'Dr. No' Moffitte – recording (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Dave Raythatha – recording assistant (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Bernasky Wall – mixing (tracks: 2, 5)
 * Thomas Christopher Uzzo – mixing (track 3)
 * David Kennedy – mixing (track 4)
 * Won B – mixing (track 4)
 * Duncan Stanbury – mastering
 * Devin Roberson – executive producer, art direction
 * Helen Simmons – associate executive producer
 * Rene John-Sandy II – associate executive producer
 * Arnold Steiner – design, artwork
 * Michael Lawrence Marrow – design
 * Gerard Young – design
 * Evan Bishop – painting
 * Greg Lewis – A&R coordinator
 * Shawn "Blak Shawn" Glenn – A&R coordinator