Not everyone in hip-hop is happy that Bill Cosby wants in.

In an open letter addressed to the famous entertainer and community activist, hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons called out Cosby for what he perceived as efforts to consistently insult and downgrade young African-Americans.

As Cosby and his group, The Cosnarati Band prepare to release their album, “State of Emergency,” they respond to Simmons’ criticism.

From HipHopWired.com

Jumping to their leader’s defense, Supa Nova Slom and Jace The Great of the Cosnarati Band have both released statements on the issue.

Slom contends that while he respects Simmons, he should focus on the positive contributions that Cosby’s made to the community rather than critique his efforts.

“I respect Russell Simmons for all of his contributions to Hip Hop culture but I hope that people do not get distracted and lost in his critiques of Cosby’s past comments but instead they are able to acknowledge what Cosby is doing RIGHT NOW! Cosby is taking a whole other route by investing in politically-charged Hip Hop that does not condemn but instead inspires and uplifts during a time when there is next to none of that happening in the music industry.”

Jace The Great did not acknowledge the Hip-Hop veteran, instead he sang his praises to Bill saying,

“Point blank the problem right now is there is a state of emergency in our communities and we need to act fast. Cosby knowing the power and importance of Hip Hop culture is using it as a means to reach more youth not to condemn them.”

Bill has yet to release a response of his own.

Comedians Jerry Seinfeld, Chris Rock and Dick Gregory were among hundreds who gathered in Washington D.C on Monday to award comedian and social activist Bill Cosby with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

The 72-year-old actor, writer and television producer was lauded not only for his comedic genius but for also “breaking down racial barriers and stereotypes.”

From the Associated Press via BlackAmericaWeb

Cosby has won other major awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2002. Still, the Mark Twain Prize is special, he said, because Twain was the “quintessential American writer — because he held his language and his love for words in perfect American form.”

The tribute will air Nov. 4 nationwide on PBS. Cosby insisted the performances at the tribute be free of profanity and that the show reflect his emphasis on education.

Actor, activist and educator are some of they words that are commonly used to describe Bill Cosby, but starting on Monday, you can add Hip-Hop music producer.

Cosby along with his band, the Cosnarati, will present State of Emergency, a conscious rap compilation addressing the issues of crime, teenage pregnancy, respecting women, education and other themes important to Cosby.

From ABC News:

Presented in association with Ustream, the town hall (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) will air on urban radio station Web sites across the country, on Cosby’s Facebook page (http://facebook.com/billcosby ) and on BillCosby.com.

Hosted by comedian/actor/educator/author Cosby and the Cosnarati Band, the event will include the band’s first public performance of several songs from “Emergency.” Those songs will be available at digital retailers Tuesday (October 20); the album’s physical and digital release is November 24.

Kudos to Bill Cosby for trying to make a difference.

Foster Parents of Missing Calif. Boy Now Murder Suspects
The foster parents of a missing 5-year-old California boy with cerebral palsy are now suspects in a murder investigation, police say. On Aug. 10, Jennifer Campbell and Louis Ross, who are engaged, told police in Oakland, Calif., that Hasanni Campbell vanished while Ross was dropping him off at the shoe store where his fiancée worked. Police arrested the couple but released them after the Alameda County District Attorney said there was too little evidence to hold them on. “We had nothing to do with it. He’s our little boy we want him and we want him home, and our main concern is finding him,” Campbell told a local Oakland TV station. Police also arrested Campbell, Hasanni’s biological aunt, Friday in the Union City BART station on suspicion of accessory to murder after the fact, Lt. Jeff Thomason said. Her fiancé, Ross, was arrested a short time later at the couple’s Fremont, Calif., home on suspicion of murder. “We will continue to review the case as police continue their investigation,” Deputy District Attorney Tom Rogers said. Thomason declined to explain why the case had become a homicide investigation less than a month after Hasanni’s guardians reported him missing. No body has been found. “There’s a lot of evidence right now we feel we still need to keep close to the investigation,” he told CNN. “Even though they’re released, they’re still suspects,” he said. “They’re the last people who saw Hasanni alive.” Police also have released surveillance video from Wal-Mart showing the couple and Hasanni together on Aug. 6 – the last independent sighting of Hasanni alive.

Cosby Urges Detroit Parents to Get Involved in Education
Bill Cosby, enlisted by Detroit Public Schools, to help improve the troubled district, is urging parents to get involved in their children’s education. Cosby said that he supports the efforts of the district’s emergency financial manager, Robert Bobb’s campaign to help keep kids in school, and he went door-to-door late Tuesday afternoon, to persuade parents to keep their children in, or return them to, the district. “This has a chance,” Cosby told reporters at a news conference. “And we’re going to knock on these doors because they weren’t open. And we’re going to talk to people to get them to understand the seriousness of a child left without a reason to understand math, without a reason to study and be able to understand English.” Bobb is pushing the district’s $500,000 student retention campaign called “I’m In.” It features 172 blue doors meant to welcome parents and students to the 172 district schools, The Associated Press reports. Enrollment dropped below 100,000 last year, and Bobb has budgeted for 83,777 students this fall. Classes begin next Tuesday. Cosby said he became interested in working with Detroit Public Schools after learning of Bobb’s effort to clean up the district’s finances while improving education. Since Bobb was appointed in March by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, he has launched a number of audits, uncovering waste and fraud that has cost the district hundreds of thousands of dollars. He has closed 29 schools and laid off more than 1,000 teachers while cutting into a $259 million budget deficit.

Comedian Bill Cosby, a native Philadelphian, said that the education situation in his favorite city is no laughing matter. Speaking to a packed house at the Pennsylvania state capital in Harrisburg, Cosby said that slashing funding for schools is making it increasingly difficult for Philly’s students to get an education. “No more cuts!” Cosby declared. He was joined by Gov. Ed Rendell and educators who are pressing the state Senate’s Republican majority to support more money for public schools. “Ladies and gentlemen, is it that we don’t like children? I mean, what did these people ever do to you that you want to cut? They’re moving on a course that is very, very favorable,” said Cosby. “Why would you want to take money from the success story and pull back on it so that they will start to enter prison?” Cosby said that education is well worth the investment, noting that it costs less than $5,000 a year to educate a young person but $33,000 a year to incarcerate someone.