GRAMMY WINNER COMMON & MTV GIVE BACK

In a Lyrics contest to promote HIV testing- Young People Compete By Submitting Original Lyrics About the Importance of Getting Tested...

Common will then Perform the Winning Entry on MTV2, mtvU, and itsyoursexlife.com

It's Your (Sex) Life, is a public information partnership between the Kaiser Family Foundation and MTV. In conjunction with "the Common Ground Foundation" this will serve as a platform to encourage young people to get tested for HIV. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends routine HIV screening for all adults and adolescents (ages 13-64) in the United States. Through this new initiative, Common, MTV and Kaiser are encouraging young people to take a minute to inform themselves and others about HIV testing.

The competition kicked off on february 15th on MTV's TRL (Total Request Live) and is intended to engage and inspire young people across the country to learn more about HIV and the importance of knowing your HIV status. The CDC estimates that among the more than one million people living with HIV/AIDS in the United States, approximately 1 in 4 do not know they are infected with the virus. FUCKING SCARY! That statistic alone makes me want to run out and get tested IMMEDIATELY...

National HIV Testing Day is (June 27, 2008) and Common's PSA will being airing the very same day & continue throughout the summer on MTV2 and mtvU, MTV's college network, as well as be available on demand at http://www.itsyoursexlife.com/.

To learn more about the contest or apply, visit www.itsyoursexlife.com or http://www.aminutecontest.com/.

"It's important to know your status by getting tested because HIV/AIDS is taking a lot of lives in our community and around the world. I had an uncle succumb to HIV, so I've personally felt the impact of the disease," said Grammy Award winning artist Common. "Your lyrics can really have an affect on people's lives and I've seen it happen."


ps: Peep Common @ the All Star Celebrity Basketball game!