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Quotable: Ban Ki-Moon on Jay-Z, “My man”

BRYAN BEDDER/Getty Images Further proof that hip-hop is spreading around the world: My man Jay-Z has been a wonderful partner to the UN, and a champion of those in need around the world.” That’s U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Jay-Z, giving the rapper an award last week for his “Water for Life” campaign to ...

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598043_071120_jayz_05.jpg

BRYAN BEDDER/Getty Images

BRYAN BEDDER/Getty Images

Further proof that hip-hop is spreading around the world:

My man Jay-Z has been a wonderful partner to the UN, and a champion of those in need around the world.”

That’s U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Jay-Z, giving the rapper an award last week for his “Water for Life” campaign to promote access to safe drinking water as part of the Millennium Development Goals.

For more on the growing popularity of hip-hop in unlikely places around the world, read Jeff Chang’s “It’s a Hip-Hop World” in the current issue of FP. You can also read an interview with Detroit promoter Dana Burton, who happens to be the godfather of hip-hop in China, and watch two Chinese rappers face off on a Shanghai stage.

Christine Y. Chen is a senior editor at Foreign Policy.
Tags: Economic Development, Globalization, United Nations

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