Fabolous is coming to the Troc for Hip Hop for Philly.
Credit: Island Def Jam
It’s simple.
Get tested for HIV and get a free ticket to June 27’s Hip Hop for Philly concert at the Trocadero Theatre starring hitmaker Fabolous.
“I think it’s a great idea,” says Fabolous. “My involvement is just to help raise the awareness and to help people get tested for it and get themselves checked.”
And rock the house with his hits, including “You Be Killin’ Em,” “Throw It in the Bag,” “Make Me Better” and “Young’n (Holla Back).”
The show is sponsored by Philadelphia FIGHT, an AIDS service group, and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. If you’re between the ages of 13 and 24 and you get tested this Saturday between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the Cobbs Creek Recreation Center, you get a ticket to the show.
Can’t make it on Saturday? There are several locations across the city — including the FIGHT headquarters at 1233 Locust St., third floor — where you can get tested and receive a free ticket throughout the week. Visit www.aidseducationmonth.org for more information.
But hurry. More than 1,000 tickets have already been given away and there are only about 200 left. Those who don’t get Fab tickets will be entered to win Jay-Z and Justin Timberlake tickets for their Aug. 13 concert at Citizens Bank Park.
The Fabolous concert is modeled after the annual Hip Hop for HIV Awareness show in Houston.
“We asked a bunch of kids who they most wanted to see and Fabolous was at the top or near the top of the list, “ says Mark M. Seaman, director of development and communications for Philadelphia FIGHT.
Infection rates for young African-Americans are growing, with those between the ages of 13 to 29 accounting for 40 percent of new HIV infections in the U.S., Seaman says.
“Young people are having sex at younger ages and they’re not making HIV testing and condom use part of their routine,” Seaman says. “People who don’t know their status will pass it to others. HIV is nothing to be afraid of — not knowing your status is.”
Fabolous has a new hit single out, a collab called “Ready” with Chris Brown. A new album, “Loso’s Way 2: Rise to Power” from Def Jam, is due later this summer.
But first, there’s work to be done in Philly. The concert falls on National HIV Testing Day.
“A lot of people are scared of the process or don’t know the process or are ignorant of the process or they think it’s hard,” Fabolous says. “They just have whatever reasons to keep away from it so we have to do things like this.”
If you go
Hip Hop for Philly featuring Fabolous
June 27, 7 p.m.
Trocadero Theatre
1003 Arch St.
Free with HIV test
www.thetroc.com
