Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2002. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Associated Press - Saturday, November 23, 2002
"I don't think you see enough of this story in your face," an indignant Combs told reporters. "There are millions and millions of people that are dying and a lot of it is ... because it's Africans, it's black people that are dying at this high rate."
Combs, R&B artists Alicia Keys and Usher and top South African acts Mandoza and Zola were in Cape Town to perform at MTV's Staying Alive Concert, which the network will broadcast globally for World AIDS Day, Dec. 1.
Combs and Keys spent several days in South Africa visiting AIDS projects, and said they were shocked at the extent of the problem.
"Once you know about it, you are almost an accessory to the genocide ... if you don't do anything about it," said Combs, 33, who was formerly known as Puff Daddy.
An estimated 4.7 million South Africans - about 11 percent of the population - are HIV positive, one of the world's highest infection rates.
Keys, who at 21 has already won five Grammy awards, said she felt obliged to use her influence to educate young people about AIDS and safe sex.
Funded in part by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Saturday's concert was intended to encourage prevention and to help fight the stigma and discrimination that surrounds the illness.
Michelle Branch, Dave Matthews and Missy Elliott performed at a similar concert Nov. 7 in Seattle.
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On the Net:
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